Polarization-Modulated Communication

Tech ID: 15-061

Inventor: Thomas Pratt, Xiaobin Wu, Thomas Fuja, Robert Kossler

Date Added: January 19, 2021

Overview

Novel wireless communication technique that uses joint-space polarization architecture and channel coding to improve the efficiency and security of wireless communication

Technology Summary

Wireless communications have permeated almost every sector of life. As wireless communication expands, the demands placed upon the reliability and efficiency of wireless technology increase. Polarization is a fundamental property of an electromagnetic wave, describing its orientation as it propagates out from its source. Compared to other fundamental wave properties - frequency, amplitude, phase - polarization has been under-utilized in the context of digital communications.

Researchers at University of Notre Dame have recently developed polarization-modulated wireless communication techniques, that are particularly suited to frequency-selective environments. The technology addresses multi-carrier implementation issues by using blind carrier frequency estimation and peak-to-average ratio (PAPR) reduction approach, improving the efficiency of transmission power. Through the use of polarization, static and dynamic images can be encoded in analog polarization parameters and be transmitted without preamble requirements. Simulated polarization transmission of a QR code has also shown a potential of Low-Probability-of-Intercept (LPI) mode that greatly improves security of data transmission.

Market Advantages

  • New communication modes are enabled through the use of polarization, such as digital and analog modulation approaches
  • High security through LPI feature
  • High efficiency in information transmission due to a peak-to-average ratio reduction approach
  • Reduced need for preamble requirements such as channel estimation and frequency offset estimation

Market Opportunities

  • Cybersecurity
  • Data transmission
  • Industrial quality control

Technology Readiness Level

TRL 3 – Experimental Proof of Concept

Intellectual Property Status

US 10,630,510 (Space-polarization modulated communications)

Publications

  • Polarization signaling for wireless communication   DOI: 10.1109/ICC.2016.7511184
  • Channel coding for wireless communication via electromagnetic polarization.    DOI: 0.1109/ISIT.2016.7541838

Contact

Richard Cox

rcox4@nd.edu

574.631.5158