Large-Scale MIMO Detection for 3GPP LTE: Algorithms and FPGA Implementations

Large-scale (or massive) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is expected to be one of the key technologies in next-generation multi-user cellular systems, based on the upcoming 3GPP LTE Release 12 standard, for example. In this work, we propose - to the best of our knowledge - the first VLSI design enabling high-throughput data detection in single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA)-based large-scale MIMO systems. We propose a new approximate matrix inversion algorithm relying on a Neumann series expansion, which substantially reduces the complexity of linear data detection. We analyze the associated error, and we compare its performance and complexity to those of an exact linear detector. We present corresponding VLSI architectures, which perform exact and approximate soft-output detection for large-scale MIMO systems with various antenna/user configurations. Reference implementation results for a Xilinx Virtex-7 XC7VX980T FPGA show that our designs are able to achieve more than 600 Mb/s for a 128 antenna, 8 user 3GPP LTE-based large-scale MIMO system. We finally provide a performance/complexity trade-off comparison using the presented FPGA designs, which reveals that the detector circuit of choice is determined by the ratio between BS antennas and users, as well as the desired error-rate performance.Comment: To appear in the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processin

CPM-SC-IFDMA--A Power Efficient Transmission Scheme for Uplink LTE

In this thesis we have proposed a power efficient transmission scheme, CPM-SC-IFDMA, for uplink LTE. In uplink LTE, efficiency of the transmitter power amplier is a major concern, as the transmitter is placed in the mobile device which has limited power supply. The proposed scheme, CPM-SC-IFDMA, combines the key advantages of CPM (continuous phase modulation) with SC-IFDMA (single carrier frequency division multiple access with interleaved subcarrier mapping) in order to increase the power amplier efficiency of the transmitter. In this work, we have analyzed the bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed scheme in LTE specied channels. The BER performance of two CPM-SC-IFDMA scheme are compared with that of a LTE specied transmission scheme, QPSK-LFDMA (QPSK modulated SC-FDMA with localized subcarrier mapping), combined with convolutional coding (CC-QPSK-LFDMA). We first show that CPM-SC-IFDMA has a much higher power efficiency than CC-QPSK-LFDMA by simulating the PAPR (peak-to-average-power-ratio) plots. Then, using the data from the PAPR plots and the conventional BER plots (BER as a function of signal-to-noise-ratio), we show that, when the net BER, obtained by compensating for the power efficiency loss, is considered, CPM-SC-IFDMA has a superior performance relative to CC-QPSK-LFDMA by up to 3.8 dB, in the LTE specified channels

Multiple-Access Technology of Choice In 3GPP LTE

Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standardizes an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) as air interface in its release 8 LTE. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access(OFDMA) and Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access(SC-FDMA)are key technologies for the air interface of mobile broadband systems.It is evident that mobile broadband access technologies are reaching a commonality in the air interface and networking architecture; they are being converged to an IP-based network architecture with OFDMA based air interface technology. The air interface of E-UTRAN is based on OFDMA in downlink and SC-FDMA in the uplink, making it possible to efficiently utilize bandwidth due to the orthogonally between sub-carriers and by assigning subsets of sub-carriers to individual users which allows for simultaneous data rate transmission from several users and differentiated quality of service for each user. In this paper, wehighlight the technologies behindOFDMA and SC-FDMA and also carry out performance comparison of the two air interface technologies. We brieflydescribe the 3GPP LTE standard, and its implementation using OFDMA and SC-FDMA technology

Comparative Analysis between OFDMA and SC-FDMA: Model, Features and Applications

This paper represents Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SCFDMA) techniques along with the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM). The concept, model, features, scopes, applications and limitation for both types of multiple access have been discussed in this paper. In present 4G and 5G cellular communication system, both OFDMA and SC-FDMA have a notable applications. Dividing the available spectrum into overlapping orthogonal narrowband sub bands, OFDMA ensures high spectral efficiency. Besides by allocating multiple sub carriers to each user, OFDMA provides high data rate, reduces inter blockage interference, minimizes frequency selective fading and so on. But it suffers from high peak to average power ration (PAPR) which results in high power consumption at the transmitter end. SC-FDMA is one of the most promising techniques to solve the PAPR problems. Besides it also removes the capacity problem of wireless cellular systems and provides higher spectral efficiency, depending on multiplexing signals based on their spatial signature. On the other hand, in OFDM due to fixed subcarrier allocations for each user and its performance can suffer from narrowband fading and interference

Peak-to-Average-Power-Ratio (PAPR) Reduction Techniques for Orthogonal-Frequency-Division- Multiplexing (OFDM) Transmission

Wireless communication has experienced an incredible growth in the last decade. Two decades ago,the number of mobile subscribers was less than 1% of the world\u27s population. As of 2011, the number of mobile subscribers has increased tremendously to 79.86% of the world\u27s population. Robust and high-rate data transmission in mobile environments faces severe problems due to the time-variant channel conditions, multipath fading and shadow fading. Fading is the main limitation on wireless communication channels. Frequency selective interference and fading, such as multipath fading, is a bandwidth bottleneck in the last mile which runs from the access point to the user. The last mile problem in wireless communication networks is caused by the environment of free space channels through which the signal propagates. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising modulation and multiplexing technique due to its robustness against multipath fading. Nevertheless, OFDM suffers from high Peak-to-Average- Power-Ratio (PAPR), which results in a complex OFDM signal. In this research, reduction of PAPR considering the out-of-band radiation and the regeneration of the time-domain signal peaks caused by filtering has been studied and is presented. Our PAPR reduction was 30% of the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) with Interleaved Frequency Division Multiple Access (IFDMA) utilizing Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and varying the roll-off factor. We show that pulse shaping does not affect the PAPR of Localized Frequency Division Multiple Access (LFDMA) as much as it affects the PAPR of IFDMA. Therefore, IFDMA has an important trade-off relationship between excess bandwidth and PAPR performance, since excess bandwidth increases as the roll-off factor increases. In addition, we studied a low complexity clipping scheme, applicable to IFDMA uplink and OFDM downlink systems for PAPR reduction. We show that the performance of the PAPR of the Interleaved-FDMA scheme is better than traditional OFDMA for the uplink transmission system. Our reduction of PAPR is 53% when IFDMA is used instead of OFDMA in the uplink direction. Furthermore, we also examined an important trade-off relationship between clipping distortion and quantization noise when the clipping scheme is used for OFDM downlink systems. Our results show a significant reduction in the PAPR and the out-of-band radiation caused by clipping for OFDM downlink transmission system

Técnicas de equalização iterativas no espaço-frequência para o LTE

Mestrado em Engenharia Electrónica e TelecomunicaçõesMobile communications had a huge leap on its evolution in the last decade due to the constant increase of the user requirements. The Long Term Evolution is the new technology developed to give proper answer to the needs of a growing mobile communications community, offering much higher data rates, better spectral efficiency and lower latency when compared to previous technologies, along with scalable bandwidth, interoperability and easy roaming. All these advantages are possible due to the implementation of new network architectures like the E-UTRAN access network and the EPC core network, the use of MIMO systems, and new multiple access schemes: OFDMA for downlink and SC-FDMA for uplink. This thesis focuses on the uplink communication of this technology with SC-FDMA, specifically on the use of Iterative Block Decision Feedback Equalizers (IB-DFE) where both the feedback and the feedforward equalizer matrices are applied on the frequency domain. Two IB-DFE schemes were implemented using both Parallel Interference Cancellation (PIC) and Serial Interference Cancellation (SIC) based processing. We considered the uplink scenario where some users share the same physical channel to transmit its own information to the Base Station (BS). Also, we consider that the BS is equipped with multiple antennas and the user terminals (UT) with a single antenna. The aim of the studied iterative schemes is to efficiently remove both the multi-user and inter-carrier interferences, while allowing a close-to-optimum space-diversity gain. The results obtained showed that both PIC and SIC implementations presented better performance than the conventional used linear multi-user sub optimal equalizers ZF and MMSE. Both solutions efficiently eliminate the multi-user interference, although the SIC based scheme slightly outperforms the PIC approach, with a performance close to the one achieved by the Matched Filter Bound (MFB).As comunicações móveis tiveram um grande avanço na sua evolução na última década devido ao constante aumento dos requisitos dos utilizadores. O Long Term Evolution é a nova tecnologia desenvolvida para dar resposta às necessidades de uma crescente comunidade de comunicações móveis, oferecendo taxas de transmissão de dados muito mais elevadas, melhor eficiência espectral e menor latência quando comparado a tecnologias anteriores, incluindo também largura de banda escalável, interoperabilidade e roaming simples. Todas estas vantagens são possíveis devido à implementação de novas arquiteturas de rede, como a rede de acesso E-UTRAN e a rede core EPC, o uso de sistemas MIMO, e novos esquemas de múltiplo acesso: OFDMA para o downlink e SC-FDMA para o uplink. Esta tese centra-se na comunicação no sentido ascendente desta tecnologia onde o esquema utilizado é o SC-FDMA, mais especificamente na aplicação de Iterative Block Decision Feedback Equalizers (IB-DFE) onde tanto a matriz de feedback como a de feedfoward do equalizador são aplicadas no domínio da frequência. Dois esquemas IB-DFE foram implementados utilizando processamento baseado em cancelamento de interferência em paralelo (PIC) e em serie (SIC). Foi considerado um cenário ascendente onde alguns utilizadores (UEs) partilham o mesmo canal físico para transmitir a sua informação para a Estação Base (BS). È também assumido que a BS está equipada com múltiplas antenas, e os terminais dos utilizadores com uma antena apenas. O objetivo dos esquemas iterativos estudados é remover eficientemente a interferência entre utilizadores e entre portadoras, permitindo entretanto um ganho de diversidade no espaço quase ótimo. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que tanto a implementação PIC como a SIC apresentam melhor eficiência do que os habituais equalizadores lineares sub ótimos ZF e MMSE. Ambas as soluções eliminam a interferência entre utilizadores, embora o esquema SIC apresente um melhor desempenho que o PIC, aproximando- se do atingido com o Matched Filter Bound (MFB)

Digital signal processing waveform aggregation and its experimental demonstration for next generation mobile fronthaul

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen