Super-resolution of pulsed multipath channels for delay spread characterization

Frequency selective channels can be measured by either a continuous wave frequency sweep, which gives directly the transfer function, or by sounding the channel with pulses, which results in the impulse response. When the sounding pulse becomes a chirp-type waveform, the two approaches become similar. Simple rectangular pulses can be used for partial, but usually sufficient, channel characterization. In this paper, the process is described for resolving impulse response components into bins smaller than the duration of the sounding pulse and smaller than the reciprocal of the channel bandwidth. From such "super-resolution", the delay spread of the propagation channel can be established accurately even when it is much less than the sounding pulse duration, allowing longer, higher energy pulses to be used for channel characterization. The process is demonstrated using subtractive deconvolution where a loop gain of unity is shown to be stable; and a modified inverse filter technique, in which the modification caters for the spectral zeros of the sounding pulse.