Introduction to UWB Signals and Systems

The word ‘ultra-wideband’ (UWB) commonly refers to signals or systems that either have a large relative, or a large absolute bandwidth. Such a large bandwidth offers specific advantages with respect to signal robustness, information content and/or implementation simplicity, but lead to fundamental differences from conventional, narrowband systems. The past years have seen a confluence of technological and political/economic circumstances that enabled practical use of UWB systems; consequently, interest in UWB has grown dramatically. This book gives a detailed investigation of an important part of this development, namely UWB antennas and propagation. The current chapter is intended to place this part in the bigger picture by relating it to the issues of system design, applications and regulatory rules.