FPGA Emulation of the Physical Layer of an 802.11n-Based Transceiver

The IEEE 802.11n standard has revolutionized wireless communications by significantly enhancing the capabilities of wireless local area networks. This article provides an overview of the physical layer of the IEEE 802.11n standard, focusing on its advancements and the benefits it brings to wireless communications. Also, this paper aims to evaluate the functionality of the physical layer, known as PHY, of the IEEE 802.11n standard using an FPGA board. To achieve this, the transmission and reception processes are reconstructed using the techniques required by the standard, including binary convolution, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), data interleaving, and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The main contribution of this paper is proving the viability of FPGA boards for developing IEEE 802.11-based transceptors.