Demand for access to the radio spectrum continues to grow with the daily introduction of new radio services. The demand for spectrum access in excess of bands allocated to the passive services (radio astronomy and remote sensing) is also growing, e.g. one of the proposed new generation radio telescopes, e.g. new radio telescopes under construction or in the design stages, such as the Allen Telescope Array or the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) require access to the spectrum between 100 MHz and 12 GHz, and 100 MHz and 20 GHz, respectively. Increased demand for spectrum access leads, of necessity, to more spectrum sharing, and new techniques that facilitate such sharing must be developed.
This award funds the development of a high sensitivity spectrum monitoring system in the 500 MHz to 6 GHz range. The spectrum monitor will then be used for temporal monitoring of spectrum usage patterns in diverse settings (urban, rural, etc.). Spectrum monitoring will include polarization and azimuthal characteristics related to multipath propagation. The measured data will then be compared with predictions arrived at by modeling, that uses available transmitter databases and propagation models.
The award includes support for a student working towards a PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. ***
