Channel estimation techniques for filter bank multicarrier based transceivers for next generation of wireless networks

A dissertation submitted to Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering (Electrical and Information Engineering), August 2017The fourth generation (4G) of wireless communication system is designed based on the principles of cyclic prefix orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CP-OFDM) where the cyclic prefix (CP) is used to combat inter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-carrier interference (ICI) in order to achieve higher data rates in comparison to the previous generations of wireless networks. Various filter bank multicarrier systems have been considered as potential waveforms for the fast emerging next generation (xG) of wireless networks (especially the fifth generation (5G) networks). Some examples of the considered waveforms are orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with offset quadrature amplitude modulation based filter bank, universal filtered multicarrier (UFMC), bi-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (BFDM) and generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM). In perfect reconstruction (PR) or near perfect reconstruction (NPR) filter bank designs, these aforementioned FBMC waveforms adopt the use of well-designed prototype filters (which are used for designing the synthesis and analysis filter banks) so as to either replace or minimize the CP usage of the 4G networks in order to provide higher spectral efficiencies for the overall increment in data rates. The accurate designing of the FIR low-pass prototype filter in NPR filter banks results in minimal signal distortions thus, making the analysis filter bank a time-reversed version of the corresponding synthesis filter bank. However, in non-perfect reconstruction (Non-PR) the analysis filter bank is not directly a time-reversed version of the corresponding synthesis filter bank as the prototype filter impulse response for this system is formulated (in this dissertation) by the introduction of randomly generated errors. Hence, aliasing and amplitude distortions are more prominent for Non-PR. Channel estimation (CE) is used to predict the behaviour of the frequency selective channel and is usually adopted to ensure excellent reconstruction of the transmitted symbols. These techniques can be broadly classified as pilot based, semi-blind and blind channel estimation schemes. In this dissertation, two linear pilot based CE techniques namely the least square (LS) and linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE), and three adaptive channel estimation schemes namely least mean square (LMS), normalized least mean square (NLMS) and recursive least square (RLS) are presented, analyzed and documented. These are implemented while exploiting the near orthogonality properties of offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OQAM) to mitigate the effects of interference for two filter bank waveforms (i.e. OFDM/OQAM and GFDM/OQAM) for the next generation of wireless networks assuming conditions of both NPR and Non-PR in slow and fast frequency selective Rayleigh fading channel. Results obtained from the computer simulations carried out showed that the channel estimation schemes performed better in an NPR filter bank system as compared with Non-PR filter banks. The low performance of Non-PR system is due to the amplitude distortion and aliasing introduced from the random errors generated in the system that is used to design its prototype filters. It can be concluded that RLS, NLMS, LMS, LMMSE and LS channel estimation schemes offered the best normalized mean square error (NMSE) and bit error rate (BER) performances (in decreasing order) for both waveforms assuming both NPR and Non-PR filter banks. Keywords: Channel estimation, Filter bank, OFDM/OQAM, GFDM/OQAM, NPR, Non-PR, 5G, Frequency selective channel.CK201

Compensation of Physical Impairments in Multi-Carrier Communications

Among various multi-carrier transmission techniques, orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is currently a popular choice in many wireless communication systems. This is mainly due to its numerous advantages, including resistance to multi-path distortions by using the cyclic prefix (CP) and a simple one-tap channel equalization, and efficient implementations based on the fast Fourier and inverse Fourier transforms. However, OFDM also has disadvantages which limit its use in some applications. First, the high out-of-band (OOB) emission in OFDM due to the inherent rectangular shaping filters poses a challenge for opportunistic and dynamic spectrum access where multiple users are sharing a limited transmission bandwidth. Second, a strict orthogonal synchronization between sub-carriers makes OFDM less attractive in low-power communication systems. Furthermore, the use of the CP in OFDM reduces the spectral efficiency and thus it may not be suitable for short-packet and low-latency transmission applications. Generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) and circular filter-bank multi-carrier offset quadrature amplitude modulation (CFBMC-OQAM) have recently been considered as alternatives to OFDM for the air interface of wireless communication systems because they can overcome certain disadvantages in OFDM. Specifically, these two systems offer a flexibility in choosing the shaping filters so that the high OOB emission in OFDM can be avoided. Moreover, the strict orthogonality requirement in OFDM is relaxed in GFDM and CFBMC-OQAM which are, respectively, non-orthogonal and real-field orthogonal systems. Although a CP is also used in these two systems, the CP is added for a block of many symbols instead of only one symbol as in OFDM, which, therefore, improves the spectral efficiency. Given that the performance of a wireless communication system is affected by various physical impairments such as phase noise (PN), in-phase and quadrature (IQ) imbalance and imperfect channel estimation, this thesis proposes a number of novel signal processing algorithms to compensate for physical impairments in multi-carrier communication systems, including OFDM, GFDM and CFBMC-OQAM. The first part of the thesis examines the use of OFDM in full-duplex (FD) communication under the presence of PN, IQ imbalance and nonlinearities. FD communication is a promising technique since it can potentially double the spectral efficiency of the conventional half-duplex (HD) technique. However, the main challenge in implementing an FD wireless device is to cope with the self-interference (SI) imposed by the device's own transmission. The implementation of SI cancellation (SIC) faces many technical issues due to the physical impairments. In this part of research, an iterative algorithm is proposed in which the SI cancellation and detection of the desired signal benefit from each other. Specifically, in each iteration, the SI cancellation performs a widely linear estimation of the SI channel and compensates for the physical impairments to improve the detection performance of the desired signal. The detected desired signal is in turn removed from the received signal to improve SI channel estimation and SI cancellation in the next iteration. Results obtained show that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms existing algorithms in SI cancellation and detection of the desired signal. In the next part of the thesis, the impact of PN and its compensation for CFBMC-OQAM systems are considered. The sources of performance degradation are first quantified. Then, a two-stage PN compensation algorithm is proposed. In the first stage, the channel frequency response and PN are estimated based on the transmission of a preamble, which is designed to minimize the channel mean squared error (MSE). In the second stage the PN compensation is performed using the estimate obtained from the first stage together with the transmitted pilot symbols. Simulation results obtained under practical scenarios show that the proposed algorithm effectively estimates the channel frequency response and compensates for the PN. The proposed algorithm is also shown to outperform an existing algorithm that implements iterative PN compensation when the PN impact is high. As a further development from the second part, the third part of the thesis considers the impacts of both PN and IQ imbalance and proposes a unified two-stage compensation algorithm for a general multi-carrier system, which can include OFDM, GFDM and CFBMC-OQAM. Specifically, in the first stage, the channel impulse response and IQ imbalance parameters are first estimated based on the transmission of a preamble. Given the estimates obtained from the first stage, in the second stage the IQ imbalance and PN are compensated in that order based on the pilot symbols for the rest of data transmission blocks. The preamble is designed such that the estimation of IQ imbalance does not depend on the channel and PN estimation errors. The proposed algorithm is then further extended to a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system. For such a MIMO system, the preamble design is generalized so that the multiple IQ imbalances as well as channel impulse responses can be effectively estimated based on a single preamble block. Simulation results are presented and discussed in a variety of scenarios to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Design and Performance Analysis of the Dynamic Reduction of Intrinsic Interference Suppression and BER using QAM-based FBMC for MU-MIMO Communications

The present research work is focused on the study of co-channel interface with its minimization techniques without influencing its performance, in turn, which is desired to achieve the minimized complexity of Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)-based Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC) to minimize the interference and increase the spectral features with consideration of intrinsic features extractions for the ML (Maximum Likelihood) synthesis systems. The valid measures are given various concerns under consideration, to start with the consideration of the evaluation of the Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (CP-OFD performance metrics along with the FBMC/QAM in signal transmission in a dedicated fading channel for the evaluation of the modulation order and BER as a required trade-off for quality assessments. From the results, it can be noted that the proposed FBMC QAM has performed better when compared with conventional FBMC systems. The present research also includes considering and calculating the efficiency of nonlinear channels with the Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) and FBMC/QAM techniques. In continuation, the obtained results are dominating significantly to access the possible solution to meet the efficiency of the proposed system. In the next part of the research, it is considered with implementation of the sub-detector during the downlink of the system with the technique of threshold-driven strategy for better accuracy and minimization of the complexity in terms of ML detection in terms of order of its modulation. The calculations of the proposed technique with better BER are done on the recent MATLAB platform with its simulation demonstration for its detailed observation

Review of Recent Trends

This work was partially supported by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Regional Operational Programme of Centre (CENTRO 2020) of the Portugal 2020 framework, through projects SOCA (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000010) and ORCIP (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-022141). Fernando P. Guiomar acknowledges a fellowship from “la Caixa” Foundation (ID100010434), code LCF/BQ/PR20/11770015. Houda Harkat acknowledges the financial support of the Programmatic Financing of the CTS R&D Unit (UIDP/00066/2020).MIMO-OFDM is a key technology and a strong candidate for 5G telecommunication systems. In the literature, there is no convenient survey study that rounds up all the necessary points to be investigated concerning such systems. The current deeper review paper inspects and interprets the state of the art and addresses several research axes related to MIMO-OFDM systems. Two topics have received special attention: MIMO waveforms and MIMO-OFDM channel estimation. The existing MIMO hardware and software innovations, in addition to the MIMO-OFDM equalization techniques, are discussed concisely. In the literature, only a few authors have discussed the MIMO channel estimation and modeling problems for a variety of MIMO systems. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been until now no review paper specifically discussing the recent works concerning channel estimation and the equalization process for MIMO-OFDM systems. Hence, the current work focuses on analyzing the recently used algorithms in the field, which could be a rich reference for researchers. Moreover, some research perspectives are identified.publishersversionpublishe

Channel estimation techniques for next generation mobile communication systems

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorWe are witnessing a revolution in wireless technology, where the society is demanding new services, such as smart cities, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality, etc. These challenging services not only are demanding an enormous increase of data rates in the range of 1000 times higher, but also they are real-time applications with an important delay constraint. Furthermore, an unprecedented number of different machine-type devices will be also connected to the network, known as Internet of Things (IoT), where they will be transmitting real-time measurements from different sensors. In this context, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has already developed the new Fifth Generation (5G) of mobile communication systems, which should be capable of satisfying all the requirements. Hence, 5G will provide three key aspects, such as: enhanced mobile broad-band (eMBB) services, massive machine type communications (mMTC) and ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC). In order to accomplish all the mentioned requirements, it is important to develop new key radio technologies capable of exploiting the wireless environment with a higher efficiency. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is the most widely used waveform by the industry, however, it also exhibits high side lobes reducing considerably the spectral efficiency. Therefore, filter-bank multi-carrier combined with offset quadrature amplitude modulation (FBMC-OQAM) is a waveform candidate to replace OFDM due to the fact that it provides extremely low out-ofband emissions (OBE). The traditional spectrum frequencies range is close to saturation, thus, there is a need to exploit higher bands, such as millimeter waves (mm-Wave), making possible the deployment of ultra broad-band services. However, the high path loss in these bands increases the blockage probability of the radio-link, forcing us to use massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems in order to increase either the diversity or capacity of the overall link. All these emergent radio technologies can make 5G a reality. However, all their benefits can be only exploited under the knowledge and availability of the channel state information (CSI) in order to compensate the effects produced by the channel. The channel estimation process is a well known procedure in the area of signal processing for communications, where it is a challenging task due to the fact that we have to obtain a good estimator, maintaining at the same time the efficiency and reduced complexity of the system and obtaining the results as fast as possible. In FBMC-OQAM, there are several proposed channel estimation techniques, however, all of them required a high number of operations in order to deal with the self-interference produced by the prototype filter, hence, increasing the complexity. The existing channel estimation and equalization techniques for massive MIMO are in general too complex due to the large number of antennas, where we must estimate the channel response of each antenna of the array and perform some prohibitive matrix inversions to obtain the equalizers. Besides, for the particular case of mm-Wave, the existing techniques either do not adapt well to the dynamic ranges of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios or they assume some approximations which reduce the quality of the estimator. In this thesis, we focus on the channel estimation for different emerging techniques that are capable of obtaining a better performance with a lower number of operations, suitable for low complexity devices and for URLLC. Firstly, we proposed new pilot sequences for FBMC-OQAM enabling the use of a simple averaging process in order to obtain the CSI. We show that our technique outperforms the existing ones in terms of complexity and performance. Secondly, we propose an alternative low-complexity way of computing the precoding/postcoding equalizer under the scenario of massive MIMO, keeping the quality of the estimator. Finally, we propose a new channel estimation technique for massive MIMO for mm-Wave, capable of adapting to very variable scenarios in terms of SNR and outperforming the existing techniques. We provide some analysis of the mean squared error (MSE) and complexity of each proposed technique. Furthermore, some numerical results are given in order to provide a better understanding of the problem and solutions.Programa de Doctorado en Multimedia y Comunicaciones por la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid y la Universidad Rey Juan CarlosPresidente: Antonia María Tulino.- Secretario: Máximo Morales Céspedes.- Vocal: Octavia A. Dobr

Spectral Efficiency Analysis of Filter Bank Multi‐Carrier (FBMC)‐ Based 5G Networks with Estimated Channel State Information (CSI)

Filter bank multi‐carrier (FBMC) modulation, as a potential candidate for physical data communication in the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, has been widely investigated. This chapter focuses on the spectral efficiency analysis of FBMC‐based cognitive radio (CR) systems, and spectral efficiency comparison is conducted with another three types of multi‐carrier modulations: orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM), and universal‐filtered multi‐carrier (UFMC). In order to well evaluate and compare the spectral efficiency, we propose two resource allocation (RA) algorithms for single‐cell and two‐cell CR systems, respectively. In the single‐cell system, the RA algorithm is divided into two sequential steps, which incorporate subcarrier assignment and power allocation. In the two‐cell system, a noncooperative game is formulated and the multiple access channel (MAC) technique assists to solve the RA problem. The channel state information (CSI) between CR users and licensed users cannot be precisely known in practice, and thus, an estimated CSI is considered by defining a prescribed outage probability of licensed systems. Numerical results show that FBMC can achieve the highest channel capacity compared with another three waveforms