A Two-Stage 2D Channel Extrapolation Scheme for TDD 5G NR Systems

Recently, channel extrapolation has been widely investigated in frequency division duplex (FDD) massive MIMO systems. However, in time division duplex (TDD) fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) systems, the channel extrapolation problem also arises due to the hopping uplink pilot pattern, which has not been fully researched yet. This paper addresses this gap by formulating a channel extrapolation problem in TDD massive MIMO-OFDM systems for 5G NR, incorporating imperfection factors. A novel two-stage two-dimensional (2D) channel extrapolation scheme in both frequency and time domain is proposed, designed to mitigate the negative effects of imperfection factors and ensure high-accuracy channel estimation. Specifically, in the channel estimation stage, we propose a novel multi-band and multi-timeslot based high-resolution parameter estimation algorithm to achieve 2D channel extrapolation in the presence of imperfection factors. Then, to avoid repeated multi-timeslot based channel estimation, a channel tracking stage is designed during the subsequent time instants, in which a sparse Markov channel model is formulated to capture the dynamic sparsity of massive MIMO-OFDM channels under the influence of imperfection factors. Next, an expectation-maximization (EM) based compressive channel tracking algorithm is designed to jointly estimate unknown imperfection and channel parameters by exploiting the high-resolution prior information of the delay/angle parameters from the previous timeslots. Simulation results underscore the superior performance of our proposed channel extrapolation scheme over baselines

Efficient Downlink Channel Reconstruction for FDD Multi-Antenna Systems

In this paper, we propose an efficient downlink channel reconstruction scheme for a frequency-division-duplex multi-antenna system by utilizing uplink channel state information combined with limited feedback. Based on the spatial reciprocity in a wireless channel, the downlink channel is reconstructed by using frequency-independent parameters. We first estimate the gains, delays, and angles during uplink sounding. The gains are then refined through downlink training and sent back to the base station (BS). With limited overhead, the refinement can substantially improve the accuracy of the downlink channel reconstruction. The BS can then reconstruct the downlink channel with the uplink-estimated delays and angles and the downlink-refined gains. We also introduce and extend the Newtonized orthogonal matching pursuit (NOMP) algorithm to detect the delays and gains in a multi-antenna multi-subcarrier condition. The results of our analysis show that the extended NOMP algorithm achieves high estimation accuracy. Simulations and over-the-air tests are performed to assess the performance of the efficient downlink channel reconstruction scheme. The results show that the reconstructed channel is close to the practical channel and that the accuracy is enhanced when the number of BS antennas increases, thereby highlighting that the promising application of the proposed scheme in large-scale antenna array systems

Downlink channel spatial covariance estimation in realistic FDD massive MIMO systems

The knowledge of the downlink (DL) channel spatial covariance matrix at the BS is of fundamental importance for large-scale array systems operating in frequency division duplexing (FDD) mode. In particular, this knowledge plays a key role in the DL channel state information (CSI) acquisition. In the massive MIMO regime, traditional schemes based on DL pilots are severely limited by the covariance feedback and the DL training overhead. To overcome this problem, many authors have proposed to obtain an estimate of the DL spatial covariance based on uplink (UL) measurements. However, many of these approaches rely on simple channel models, and they are difficult to extend to more complex models that take into account important effects of propagation in 3D environments and of dual-polarized antenna arrays. In this study we propose a novel technique that takes into account the aforementioned effects, in compliance with the requirements of modern 4G and 5G system designs. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of our approach.Comment: [v2] is the version accepted at GlobalSIP 2018. Only minor changes mainly in the introductio