Time reversal of electromagnetic waves and telecommunication

Time reversal (TR) communication in various configurations (single input, single output (SISO); multiple inputs, single output (MISO); or multiple inputs, multiple outputs (MIMO)) is studied. In particular, we report an experimental demonstration of time reversal focusing with electromagnetic waves in a SISO scheme. An antenna transmits a 1 μs electromagnetic pulse at a central frequency of 2.45 GHz in a high-Q cavity. Another antenna records the strongly reverberated signal. The time-reversed wave is built and transmitted back by the same antenna acting now as a time reversal mirror. The wave is found to converge to its initial source and is compressed in time. The quality of focusing is determined by the frequency bandwidth and the spectral correlations of the field within the cavity. A spatial focusing of the compressed pulse is also shown. This experiment is the first step for a communication scheme based on time reversal. It would be very interesting for ultrawideband communication in complex media since TR would permit compensation for delay spreading. MISO and MIMO TR communications are discussed on the basis of small-scale experiments with ultrasound. In particular, the binary error rate of the method is studied as a function of both data rate and external noise. A simple theoretical approach explains the results.