Frame Based Precoding in Satellite Communications: A Multicast Approach

In the present work, a multibeam satellite that employs aggressive frequency reuse towards increasing the offered throughput is considered. Focusing on the forward link, the goal is to employ multi-antenna signal processing techniques, namely linear precoding, to manage the inter-beam interferences. In this context, fundamental practical limitations, namely the rigid framing structure of satellite communication standards and the on-board per-antenna power constraints, are herein considered. Therefore, the concept of optimal frame based precoding under per-antenna constraints, is discussed. This consists in precoding the transmit signals without changing the underlying framing structure of the communication standard. In the present work, the connection of the frame based precoding problem with the generic signal processing problem of conveying independent sets of common data to distinct groups of users is established. This model is known as physical layer multicasting to multiple co-channel groups. Building on recent results, the weighted fair per-antenna power constrained multigroup multicast precoders are employed for frame based precoding. The throughput performance of these solutions is compared to multicast aware heuristic precoding methods over a realistic multibeam satellite scenario. Consequently, the gains of the proposed approach are quantified via extensive numerical results.Comment: Accepted for presentation at the IEEE ASMS 201

Rate-splitting multiple access for non-terrestrial communication and sensing networks

Rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) has emerged as a powerful and flexible non-orthogonal transmission, multiple access (MA) and interference management scheme for future wireless networks. This thesis is concerned with the application of RSMA to non-terrestrial communication and sensing networks. Various scenarios and algorithms are presented and evaluated. First, we investigate a novel multigroup/multibeam multicast beamforming strategy based on RSMA in both terrestrial multigroup multicast and multibeam satellite systems with imperfect channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). The max-min fairness (MMF)-degree of freedom (DoF) of RSMA is derived and shown to provide gains compared with the conventional strategy. The MMF beamforming optimization problem is formulated and solved using the weighted minimum mean square error (WMMSE) algorithm. Physical layer design and link-level simulations are also investigated. RSMA is demonstrated to be very promising for multigroup multicast and multibeam satellite systems taking into account CSIT uncertainty and practical challenges in multibeam satellite systems. Next, we extend the scope of research from multibeam satellite systems to satellite- terrestrial integrated networks (STINs). Two RSMA-based STIN schemes are investigated, namely the coordinated scheme relying on CSI sharing and the co- operative scheme relying on CSI and data sharing. Joint beamforming algorithms are proposed based on the successive convex approximation (SCA) approach to optimize the beamforming to achieve MMF amongst all users. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed RSMA schemes for STINs are demonstrated. Finally, we consider RSMA for a multi-antenna integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) system, which simultaneously serves multiple communication users and estimates the parameters of a moving target. Simulation results demonstrate that RSMA is beneficial to both terrestrial and multibeam satellite ISAC systems by evaluating the trade-off between communication MMF rate and sensing Cramer-Rao bound (CRB).Open Acces

Symbol-Level Multiuser MISO Precoding for Multi-level Adaptive Modulation

Symbol-level precoding is a new paradigm for multiuser downlink systems which aims at creating constructive interference among the transmitted data streams. This can be enabled by designing the precoded signal of the multiantenna transmitter on a symbol level, taking into account both channel state information and data symbols. Previous literature has studied this paradigm for MPSK modulations by addressing various performance metrics, such as power minimization and maximization of the minimum rate. In this paper, we extend this to generic multi-level modulations i.e. MQAM and APSK by establishing connection to PHY layer multicasting with phase constraints. Furthermore, we address adaptive modulation schemes which are crucial in enabling the throughput scaling of symbol-level precoded systems. In this direction, we design signal processing algorithms for minimizing the required power under per-user SINR or goodput constraints. Extensive numerical results show that the proposed algorithm provides considerable power and energy efficiency gains, while adapting the employed modulation scheme to match the requested data rate

Energy-Efficient Symbol-Level Precoding in Multiuser MISO Based on Relaxed Detection Region

This paper addresses the problem of exploiting interference among simultaneous multiuser transmissions in the downlink of multiple-antenna systems. Using symbol-level precoding, a new approach towards addressing the multiuser interference is discussed through jointly utilizing the channel state information (CSI) and data information (DI). The interference among the data streams is transformed under certain conditions to a useful signal that can improve the signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) of the downlink transmissions and as a result the system's energy efficiency. In this context, new constructive interference precoding techniques that tackle the transmit power minimization (min power) with individual SINR constraints at each user's receiver have been proposed. In this paper, we generalize the CI precoding design under the assumption that the received MPSK symbol can reside in a relaxed region in order to be correctly detected. Moreover, a weighted maximization of the minimum SNR among all users is studied taking into account the relaxed detection region. Symbol error rate analysis (SER) for the proposed precoding is discussed to characterize the tradeoff between transmit power reduction and SER increase due to the relaxation. Based on this tradeoff, the energy efficiency performance of the proposed technique is analyzed. Finally, extensive numerical results show that the proposed schemes outperform other state-of-the-art techniques.Comment: Submitted to IEEE transactions on Wireless Communications. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1408.470

Total and Minimum Energy Efficiency Tradeoff in Robust Multigroup Multicast Satellite Communications

Data Availability: All data needed to evaluate the conclusions of the study are presented in the paper.Copyright © 2023 Bin Jiang et al. Satellite communication is an indispensable part of future wireless communications given its global coverage and long-distance propagation. In satellite communication systems, channel acquisition and energy consumption are two critical issues. To this end, we investigate the tradeoff between the total energy efficiency (TEE) and minimum EE (MEE) for robust multigroup multicast satellite communication systems in this paper. Specifically, under the total power constraint, we investigate the robust beamforming aimed at balancing the TEE-MEE, so as to achieve the balance between the fairness and total performance on the system EE. For this optimization problem, we first model the balancing problem as a nonconvex problem while deriving its approximate closed-form average user rate. Then, the nonconvex problem is handled by solving convex programs sequentially with the help of the semidefinite relaxation and the concave-convex procedure. In addition, depending on the solution rank value, Gaussian randomization and eigenvalue decomposition method are applied to generate the feasible solutions. Finally, simulation results illustrate that the proposed approach can effectively achieve the balance between the TEE and MEE, thus realizing a tradeoff between fairness and system EE performance. It is also indicated that the proposed robust approach outperforms the conventional baselines in terms of EE performance.This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 62341110, the Key Technologies R&D Program of Jiangsu (Prospective and Key Technologies for Industry) under Grants BE2022067 and BE2022067-5, the Jiangsu Province Basic Research Project under Grant BK20192002, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grants 2242021R41148 and 2242022k60007, and the Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program by China Institute of Communications. The work of J.Z. was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant U2233216

Closed-form multicast precoding for satellite flexible payloads

This paper investigates a novel closed-form noniterative precoding technique for multicast multibeam satellite systems. Next-generation satellite systems will be benefited from the flexible use of the satellite resources especially its power flexible allocation among beams. Intending to obtain a low-computational complexity design, we revisit the well-known signal-to-leakage-and-noise ratio design for multicast transmission. Two alternatives are introduced considering both the physical meaning of the ratio and certain multicast channel vector mapping. We observe the benefits of these techniques in satellite flexible payloads. The proposed technique shows a substantial gain compared to the benchmark according to the numerical simulations. Intuitive insights on the precoding behaviour are also presented.This work is funded by Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spain, under project TERESA -TEC2017-90093-C3-1-R (AEI/FEDER, UE) and by Catalan government under the grant 2017-SGR-01479.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Multibeam Joint Processing in Satellite Communications

Cooperative Satellite Communications (SatComs) involve multi-antenna satellites enabled for the joint transmission and reception of signals. This joint processing of baseband signals is realized amongst the distinct but interconnected antennas. Advanced signal processing techniques –namely precoding and Multiuser Detection (MUD)– are herein examined in the multibeam satellite context. The aim of this thesis is to establish the prominence of such methods in the next generation of broadband satellite networks. To this end, two approaches are followed. On one hand, the performance of the well established and theoretically concrete MUD is analysed over the satellite environments. On the other, optimal signal processing designs are developed and evaluated for the forward link. In more detail, the present dissertation begins by introducing the topic of multibeam joint processing. Thus, the most significant practical constraints that hinder the application of advanced interference mitigation techniques in satellite networks are identified and discussed. Prior to presenting the contributions of this work, the multi-antenna joint processing problem is formulated using the generic Multiuser (MU) Multiple InputMultiple Output (MIMO) baseband signal model. This model is also extended to apply in the SatComs context. A detailed presentation of the related work, starting from a generic signal processing perspective and then focusing on the SatComs field, is then given. With this review, the main open research topics are identified. Following the comprehensive literature review, the first contribution of this work, is presented. This involves the performance evaluation of MUD in the Return Link (RL) of multiuser multibeam SatComs systems. Novel, analytical expressions are derived to describe the information theoretic channel capacity as well as the performance of practical receivers over realistic satellite channels. Based on the derived formulas, significant insights for the design of the RL of next generation cooperative satellite systems are provided. In the remaining of this thesis, the focus is set on the Forward Link (FL) of multibeam SatComs, where precoding, combined with aggressive frequency reuse configurations, are proposed to enhance the offered throughput. In this context, the alleviation of practical constraints imposed by the satellite channel is the main research challenge. Focusing on the rigid framing structure of the legacy SatCom standards, the fundamental frame-based precoding problem is examined. Based on the necessity to serve multiple users by a single transmission, the connection of the frame-based precoding and the fundamental signal processing problem of physical layer multigroup multicasting is established. In this framework and to account for the power limitations imposed by a dedicated High Power Amplifier (HPA) per transmit element, a novel solution for multigroup multicasting under Per Anntenna Constraints (PACs) is derived. Therefore, the gains offered by multigroup multicasting in frame-based systems are quantified over an accurate simulation setting. Finally, advanced multicast and interference aware scheduling algorithms are proposed to glean significant gains in the rich multiuser satellite environment. The thesis concludes with the main research findings and the identification of new research challenges, which will pave the way for the deployment of cooperative multibeam satellite systems