Presenters:
Zilong Liu, University of Essex, UK.
Hyeon Seok Rou,Constructor University Bremen, Germany
Giuseppe Thadeu Freitas de Abreu, Constructor University Bremen, Germany,
Zeping Sui, University of Essex, UK
Qu Luo, University of Surrey, UK
Abstract:
This tutorial will provide a comprehensive and in-depth introduction to Affine Frequency Division Multiplexing (AFDM), a promising chirp-based multicarrier modulation scheme that offers excellent backward compatibility and full channel diversity. Unlike many emerging waveforms, AFDM can be implemented with minimal modifications to current OFDM-based 4G/5G infrastructures, thereby enabling seamless integration into legacy systems. At the same time, AFDM delivers significantly enhanced reliability in high-mobility and doubly dispersive channels, positioning it as a strong candidate for efficient communications and joint sensing in complex wireless environments. The tutorial will be delivered by a team of five experienced researchers from the University of Essex, the University of Surrey, and Constructor University Bremen, and will systematically cover the context and evolution of waveform design in the beyond-5G/6G era, the fundamental principles and backward compatibility of AFDM, key physical-layer design challenges such as peak-to-average power ratio reduction, out-of-band emission suppression, and waveform shaping together with effective mitigation strategies, emerging AFDM variants including Chirp-Permuted AFDM, Affine Filter Bank Modulation, Generalized Spatial Modulation-aided AFDM, and non-orthogonal AFDM, as well as the role of AFDM in integrated sensing and communications design. By bridging theoretical foundations, implementation considerations, and advanced applications, this tutorial aims to reinforce the global research agenda on waveform design for 6G systems, with strong potential to influence both academic research and industrial development.
Biographies:
Zilong Liu is an Associate Professor, the 6G Laboratory Manager, and the 2024 Outstanding Mid-Career Researcher in the Faculty of Science and Health, University of Essex, UK. Before his current post, he was with the University of Surrey, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, the University of Melbourne, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. His research lies in the interplay of coding, signal processing, and communications, with a focus on new 6G physical layer. He has widely published in top-rated IEEE journals such as IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, and IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications. He is/was the Hosting General Chair of IWSDA’2022 (iwsda2022.github.io) and SETA’2024 (seta-2024.github.io), Track Chair at major IEEE conferences (e.g., VTC-Fall’2025, IWSDA’2025, PIMRC’2023), and an Associate Editor for several leading IEEE journals including TWC, TVT, TNNLS, WCL, and OJCOMS.
Hyeon Seok Rou received the B.Sc. degree in electrical and computer engineering in 2021 and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering in 2024, both from Constructor University Bremen, Germany. Since 2025, he has been a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Constructor University Bremen. His research interests include next-generation (B5G/6G) wireless systems, integrated sensing and communications, signal processing in doubly dispersive channels, high-mobility communications, multi-dimensional modulation, over-the-air computing, V2X technologies, and quantum-accelerated optimisation. He has been the chapter representative of the Korean Scientists and Engineers Association in Germany since 2021, and has received distinctions including the KIST Europe Research Scholarship (2022). He also contributes to the IEEE Standards Association P3383 Working Group on ISAC performance metrics.
Giuseppe Thadeu Freitas de Abreu received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering and the Latu Sensu degree in telecommunications from the Universidade Federal da Bahia, Brazil, in 1996 and 1997, and the M.Eng. and D.Eng. degrees from Yokohama National University, Japan, in 2001 and 2004. He was a postdoctoral fellow and later adjunct professor at the University of Oulu, Finland, from 2004 to 2011. Since 2011, he has been a professor of electrical engineering at Constructor University Bremen, Germany, and from 2015 to 2018 also held a professorship at Ritsumeikan University, Japan. His research interests span communications theory, signal processing, wireless localization, quantum computing, and next-generation wireless systems. He has received multiple awards and fellowships, including the Uenohara Award and JSPS/NICT fellowships, and has served as editor for several leading IEEE journals.
Zeping Sui received the B. Eng. degree in electronic information engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an, China, in 2017, and the Ph.D. degree in signal and information processing from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2023. From Mar 2022 to Feb 2023, He was a research assistant with the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. From Aug 2023 to Aug 2024, he was a research fellow with the Centre for Wireless Innovation (CWI), Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, U.K. Currently, he is a Senior Research Officer with University of Essex, Colchester, U.K. His research interests include signal processing for wireless communications, waveform design, cell-free massive MIMO, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces, and statistical signal processing. He was an Organizer/Chair of workshops and special sessions in IEEE ICCC 2025, IEEE Ucom 2025, and IEEE SPAWC 2025. He has been a member of Technical Program Committees for many IEEE conferences, such as ICC, GLOBECOM, WCNC, and VTC.
Qu Luo received the Ph.D. degree from the University of Surrey, U.K., in 2024. He is currently a Research Fellow of wireless communications with 5GIC/6GIC, Institute for Communication Systems, University of Surrey. He was a Visiting Collaborative Researcher with the University of Essex in 2023. He was a recipient of the Exemplary Reviewer Awards of IEEE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION LETTERS from 2020 to 2023 and IEEE COMMUNICATION LETTERS from 2022 to 2023 and the Best Paper Awards of the IEEE CSPS in 2018 and the IWCMC in 2024. He was also an Organizer/the Chair of workshops and special sessions in IEEE ICCC 2025, IEEE Ucom 2025 and IEEE SPAWC 2025. His research interests include proof-of-concept physical layer design, new PYH waveform design, integrated sensing and communication (ISAC), non-orthogonal multiple access, random access, deep/machine learning in the physical layer, and joint MAC layer and physical layer optimization.