Advanced Synchronization Techniques for Continuous Phase Modulation

To my parents, Chongding Zhao and Fulan Yin, and my wife, Dawei. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is dedicated to my parents, Chongdoing Zhao and Fulan Yin, and my dear wife, Dawei, for their patience and love through all these years. My parents did their best since my childhood to provide me the best educational opportunities. They have been a source of incessant support and encouragement in my life, which has been vital to all of my accomplishments. Dawei has walked with me through many difficult times during my graduate study. Without her love and understanding, it would have been much harder for me to get here today. I shall always be grateful to my advisor, Professor Gordon L. Stüber, for his continuous guidance and support throughout my study at Georgia Tech. He does not give me a fish but he does all he can do to teach me how to fish. From my deep heart I appreciate his advising style, which gave me much freedom in research, help me build my knowledge scheme and motivated me to work independently. Without him, it is impossible for me to be such confident in my research area. I am also thankful to Dr. Kenneth A. Stewart for his mentoring during my summer internships at Motorola Inc. in 2004 and 2005. He set up a role model for me showing the path how to succeed in the industry world. His success and influence might be one of primary reasons that drove me to join industry after graduation. for their valuable advices, suggestions and comments, which make this thesis substantially better. Last but not least, I extend my thanks to my current and previous labmates in Wireless