Performance enhancement for LTE and beyond systems

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyWireless communication systems have undergone fast development in recent years. Based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specified the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard to cope with rapidly increasing demands, including capacity, coverage, and data rate. To achieve this goal, several key techniques have been adopted by LTE, such as Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), and heterogeneous network (HetNet). However, there are some inherent drawbacks regarding these techniques. Direct conversion architecture is adopted to provide a simple, low cost transmitter solution. The problem of I/Q imbalance arises due to the imperfection of circuit components; the orthogonality of OFDM is vulnerable to carrier frequency offset (CFO) and sampling frequency offset (SFO). The doubly selective channel can also severely deteriorate the receiver performance. In addition, the deployment of Heterogeneous Network (HetNet), which permits the co-existence of macro and pico cells, incurs inter-cell interference for cell edge users. The impact of these factors then results in significant degradation in relation to system performance. This dissertation aims to investigate the key techniques which can be used to mitigate the above problems. First, I/Q imbalance for the wideband transmitter is studied and a self-IQ-demodulation based compensation scheme for frequencydependent (FD) I/Q imbalance is proposed. This combats the FD I/Q imbalance by using the internal diode of the transmitter and a specially designed test signal without any external calibration instruments or internal low-IF feedback path. The instrument test results show that the proposed scheme can enhance signal quality by 10 dB in terms of image rejection ratio (IRR). In addition to the I/Q imbalance, the system suffers from CFO, SFO and frequency-time selective channel. To mitigate this, a hybrid optimum OFDM receiver with decision feedback equalizer (DFE) to cope with the CFO, SFO and doubly selective channel. The algorithm firstly estimates the CFO and channel frequency response (CFR) in the coarse estimation, with the help of hybrid classical timing and frequency synchronization algorithms. Afterwards, a pilot-aided polynomial interpolation channel estimation, combined with a low complexity DFE scheme, based on minimum mean squared error (MMSE) criteria, is developed to alleviate the impact of the residual SFO, CFO, and Doppler effect. A subspace-based signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation algorithm is proposed to estimate the SNR in the doubly selective channel. This provides prior knowledge for MMSE-DFE and automatic modulation and coding (AMC). Simulation results show that this proposed estimation algorithm significantly improves the system performance. In order to speed up algorithm verification process, an FPGA based co-simulation is developed. Inter-cell interference caused by the co-existence of macro and pico cells has a big impact on system performance. Although an almost blank subframe (ABS) is proposed to mitigate this problem, the residual control signal in the ABS still inevitably causes interference. Hence, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) interference cancellation algorithm, utilizing the information in the ABS, is proposed. First, the timing and carrier frequency offset of the interference signal is compensated by utilizing the cross-correlation properties of the synchronization signal. Afterwards, the reference signal is generated locally and channel response is estimated by making use of channel statistics. Then, the interference signal is reconstructed based on the previous estimate of the channel, timing and carrier frequency offset. The interference is mitigated by subtracting the estimation of the interference signal and LLR puncturing. The block error rate (BLER) performance of the signal is notably improved by this algorithm, according to the simulation results of different channel scenarios. The proposed techniques provide low cost, low complexity solutions for LTE and beyond systems. The simulation and measurements show good overall system performance can be achieved

Link level performance evaluation and link abstraction for LTE/LTE-advanced downlink

Els objectius principals d'aquesta tesis són l'avaluació del rendiment a nivell d'enllaç i l'estudi de l'abstracció de l'enllaç pel LTE/LTE-Advanced DL. S’ha desenvolupat un simulador del nivell d'enllaç E-UTRA DL basat en la tecnologia MIMO-OFDM. Es simulen els errors d'estimació de canal amb un model d'error de soroll additiu Gaussià anomenat CEEM. El resultat d'aquest simulador serveix per avaluar el rendiment a nivell d'enllaç del LTE/LTE-Advanced DL en diferents entorns . La idea bàsica dels mètodes d'abstracció de l'enllaç és mapejar el vector de SNRs de les subportadores a un valor escalar, l'anomenada ESNR, la qual és usada per a predir la BLER. Proposem un innovador mètode d'abstracció de l'enllaç que pot predir la BLER amb bona precisió en esvaïments multicamí i que inclouen els efectes de les retransmissions HARQ. El mètode proposat es basa amb l'estimació de la informació mútua entre els bits transmesos i els LLRs rebuts.The main objectives of this dissertation are the evaluation of the link level performance and the study of link abstraction for LTE/LTE-Advanced DL. An E-UTRA DL link level simulator has been developed based on MIMO-OFDM technology. We simulate channel estimation errors by a Gaussian additive noise error model called CEEM. The result of this simulator serves to evaluate the MIMO-OFDM LTE/LTE-Advanced DL link level performance in different environments. The basic idea of link abstraction methods is to map the vector of the subcarrier SNRs to a single scalar, the ESNR, which is then used to predict the BLER. We propose a novel link abstraction method that can predict the BLER with good accuracy in multipath fading and including the effects of HARQ retransmissions. The proposed method is based on estimating the mutual information between the transmitted bits and the received LLRs.Postprint (published version

A Cognitive Sensing Algorithm for Coexistence Scenario with LTE

Increasing demand for high data rate wireless communication motivates the wireless engineers to develop advanced technologies to address such needs. LTE and LTE-Advanced are examples of such wireless technologies, which support high data rate and a large number of users. However, higher data rate communication requires more frequency bandwidth. Recent studies have shown that the inefficient utilization of frequency spectrum is one of the main reasons for the scarcity of frequency bandwidth. Cognitive Radio Network is introduced as a promising solution for this problem. It increases the utilization of bandwidth, by intelligently sensing the channel environment and dynamically providing access to the available resources (frequency bands) for a secondary user. In this thesis, we developed an algorithm for dynamically detecting and anticipating the existence of underutilized resources in LTE system. The algorithm should be a real-time operation, i.e. the decision on availability of a detected resource should be made within a time much less than scheduling update period of LTE. This is the only way that rest of the unused resources becomes usable. For each specific channel assignment, the algorithm requires to start sensing as soon as possible. Therefore, we develop the algorithm in three main steps. The first step is to blindly detect and identify the LTE-Downlink signal using cyclostationarity property of OFDM scheme. The second step is the acquisition of the LTE-Downlink sub-frame timing, which is basically performed by detecting the Primary Synchronization Signal. The third step is to detect unused resources, for the duration of their transmission. This step is using a frequency domain energy detector. By performing the first and second steps, the sub-frame timing and scheduling update instances are known. So basically the algorithm does not require any previous knowledge of the LTE signal. We evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm with respect to the tolerable amount of interference at the primary user side. Using the proposed algorithm, in average up to 81 % of unused resources can be used by the secondary user

Scaling up MIMO: Opportunities and Challenges with Very Large Arrays

This paper surveys recent advances in the area of very large MIMO systems. With very large MIMO, we think of systems that use antenna arrays with an order of magnitude more elements than in systems being built today, say a hundred antennas or more. Very large MIMO entails an unprecedented number of antennas simultaneously serving a much smaller number of terminals. The disparity in number emerges as a desirable operating condition and a practical one as well. The number of terminals that can be simultaneously served is limited, not by the number of antennas, but rather by our inability to acquire channel-state information for an unlimited number of terminals. Larger numbers of terminals can always be accommodated by combining very large MIMO technology with conventional time- and frequency-division multiplexing via OFDM. Very large MIMO arrays is a new research field both in communication theory, propagation, and electronics and represents a paradigm shift in the way of thinking both with regards to theory, systems and implementation. The ultimate vision of very large MIMO systems is that the antenna array would consist of small active antenna units, plugged into an (optical) fieldbus.Comment: Accepted for publication in the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, October 201

Blind detection of interfering cell data channel power level in 3GPP LTE/LTE-Advanced downlink

Nowadays wireless cellular networks can be seen as ubiquitous systems used by a majority of the world's population and their usage continues to grow in the future. Continuously higher data rates and shorter latencies are required due to the introduction of new mobile devices and services. In addition, mobile networks are more and more used as a primary connectivity solution in several places. Thus, new technologies are required to improve the capacity and latency of mobile networks. Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced are technologies standardized by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) with the potential to fulfill these requirements for future mobile networks. LTE/LTE-Advanced cellular networks are usually interference limited, because neighbouring cells use the same frequency band for data transmission. Because of this, several users may experience high interference levels and thus cannot achieve high data rates without proper counteractions. Consequently, advanced techniques to control, suppress or cancel the interference are of interest to be studied for LTE and LTE-Advanced by 3GPP. Network Assisted Interference Cancellation and Suppression (NAICS) techniques are currently been studied by 3GPP. One of the recent studies on NAICS is so called blind detection of interfering cell parameters in a user equipment for advanced non-linear receivers. Such receivers have the capability to suppress or cancel interference significantly but they require the knowledge of specific parameters of the interfering cell to perform efficiently. These parameters have to be either signaled by the network or blindly detected from the received signal in user equipment. The topic of this thesis is to study the feasibility of blind detection of interfering cell's data channel power level, which is crucial knowledge to non-linear receivers. The study is performed at radio link level by using numerical simulations, in which the transmitter and receiver processing are modeled in detail. In addition, also the effects caused by the radio channel to the transmitted signals are modeled. The performance of one non-linear receiver, namely Symbol Level Interference Cancellation (SLIC) receiver, with blind detection is compared to the performance of SLIC receiver which has the knowledge of all required parameters. While Linear Minimum Mean Squared Error - Interference Rejection Combiner (LMMSE-IRC) receiver operates as the baseline. From the simulation results it can be seen that the blind detector performs well. Consequently this blind detector can be one noteworthy option to avoid signaling of interfering cell's data channel power level

Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: Finite Constellations, Receiver Design, and SIC-free Implementation

Rate-Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA) has emerged as a novel multiple access technique that enlarges the achievable rate region of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) broadcast channels with linear precoding. In this work, we jointly address three practical but fundamental questions: (1) How to exploit the benefit of RSMA under finite constellations? (2) What are the potential and promising ways to implement RSMA receivers? (3) Can RSMA still retain its superiority in the absence of successive interference cancellers (SIC)? To address these concerns, we first propose low-complexity precoder designs taking finite constellations into account and show that the potential of RSMA is better achieved with such designs than those assuming Gaussian signalling. We then consider some practical receiver designs that can be applied to RSMA. We notice that these receiver designs follow one of two principles: (1) SIC: cancelling upper layer signals before decoding the lower layer and (2) non-SIC: treating upper layer signals as noise when decoding the lower layer. In light of this, we propose to alter the precoder design according to the receiver category. Through link-level simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed precoder and receiver designs are verified. More importantly, we show that it is possible to preserve the superiority of RSMA over Spatial Domain Multiple Access (SDMA), including SDMA with advanced receivers, even without SIC at the receivers. Those results therefore open the door to competitive implementable RSMA strategies for 6G and beyond communications.Comment: Submitted to IEEE for publicatio