Spotforming for Ultra Wide band communications using smart antenna systems

This paper deals with the design of a spotforming Ultra Wideband system using smart antenna technology. As opposed to beamforming, we propose a method to form a 'spot' at an intended location. Smart antenna systems can be used to selectively form beams and nulls at intended directions. However, if an interferer lies within the beam of a desired recipient, the interference cannot be mitigated. The advantage of forming a spot is that it reduces interference from interferers closer to the receiver despite of it being within the direction of the beam. The problem also includes the designing and selection of best suited antenna for this application. Numerical simulation results corroborate the concept of spotforming. Spots of different sizes have been created using different number of antennas in the array and different configurations. We have also used different types of UWB antennas to customize the shape of the spot. Using this techniques, holes can also be selectively created to mitigate interference.