93 research outputs found
Rate-Splitting Multiple Access: The First Prototype and Experimental Validation of its Superiority over SDMA and NOMA
In multi-user multi-antenna communications, it is well-known in theory that
Rate-Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA) can achieve a higher spectral efficiency
than both Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) and Non-Orthogonal Multiple
Access (NOMA). However, an experimental evaluation of RSMA's performance,
relative to SDMA and NOMA, is missing in the literature, which is essential to
address the ongoing debate between RSMA and NOMA over which is better suited to
handle most efficiently the available resources and interference in 6G. In this
paper, we address this critical knowledge gap by realizing the first-ever RSMA
prototype using software-defined radios. Through measurements using our
prototype, we empirically solve the modulation and coding scheme limited sum
throughput maximization problem for RSMA, SDMA and NOMA for the two-user
multiple-input single-output (MISO) scenario over (a) different pairs of
line-of-sight channels that vary in terms of their relative pathloss and
spatial correlation, and with (b) different channel state information quality.
We observe that RSMA achieves the highest sum throughput across all these
cases, whereas SDMA and NOMA are effective only in some cases. Furthermore,
RSMA also achieves better fairness at a higher sum throughput than both SDMA
and NOMA.Comment: major revisions of IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication
Low spatial peak-to-average power ratio transmission for improved energy efficiency in massive mimo systems
A significant portion of the operating power of a base station is consumed by power amplifiers (PAs). Much of this power is dissipated in the form of heat, as the overall efficiency of currently deployed PAs is typically very low. This is because the structure of conventional precoding techniques typically results in a relatively high variation in output power at different antennas in the array, and many PAs are operated well below saturation to avoid distortion of the transmitted signals. In this work, we use a realistic model for power consumption in PAs and study the impact of power variation across antennas in the array on the energy efficiency of a massive MIMO downlink system. We introduce a family of linear precoding matrices that allow us to control the spatial peak-to-average power ratio by projecting a fraction of the transmitted power onto the null space of the channel. These precoding matrices preserve the structure of conventional precoders; e.g., they suppress multiuser interference when used together with zeroforcing precoding and bring advantages over these precoders by operating PAs in a more power-efficient region and reducing the total radiated distortion. Our numerical results show that by controlling the power variations between antennas in the array and incorporating the nonlinearity properties of PA into the precoder optimization, significant gains in energy efficiency can be achieved over conventional precoding techniques
AirSync: Enabling Distributed Multiuser MIMO with Full Spatial Multiplexing
The enormous success of advanced wireless devices is pushing the demand for
higher wireless data rates. Denser spectrum reuse through the deployment of
more access points per square mile has the potential to successfully meet the
increasing demand for more bandwidth. In theory, the best approach to density
increase is via distributed multiuser MIMO, where several access points are
connected to a central server and operate as a large distributed multi-antenna
access point, ensuring that all transmitted signal power serves the purpose of
data transmission, rather than creating "interference." In practice, while
enterprise networks offer a natural setup in which distributed MIMO might be
possible, there are serious implementation difficulties, the primary one being
the need to eliminate phase and timing offsets between the jointly coordinated
access points.
In this paper we propose AirSync, a novel scheme which provides not only time
but also phase synchronization, thus enabling distributed MIMO with full
spatial multiplexing gains. AirSync locks the phase of all access points using
a common reference broadcasted over the air in conjunction with a Kalman filter
which closely tracks the phase drift. We have implemented AirSync as a digital
circuit in the FPGA of the WARP radio platform. Our experimental testbed,
comprised of two access points and two clients, shows that AirSync is able to
achieve phase synchronization within a few degrees, and allows the system to
nearly achieve the theoretical optimal multiplexing gain. We also discuss MAC
and higher layer aspects of a practical deployment. To the best of our
knowledge, AirSync offers the first ever realization of the full multiuser MIMO
gain, namely the ability to increase the number of wireless clients linearly
with the number of jointly coordinated access points, without reducing the per
client rate.Comment: Submitted to Transactions on Networkin
Novel transmission and beamforming strategies for multiuser MIMO with various CSIT types
In multiuser multi-antenna wireless systems, the transmission and beamforming strategies that achieve the sum rate capacity depend critically on the acquisition of perfect Channel State Information at the Transmitter (CSIT).
Accordingly, a high-rate low-latency feedback link between the receiver and the transmitter is required to keep the latter accurately and instantaneously informed about the CSI.
In realistic wireless systems, however, only imperfect CSIT is achievable due to pilot contamination, estimation error, limited feedback and delay, etc.
As an intermediate solution, this thesis investigates novel transmission strategies suitable for various imperfect CSIT scenarios and the associated beamforming techniques to optimise the rate performance.
First, we consider a two-user Multiple-Input-Single-Output (MISO) Broadcast Channel (BC) under statistical and delayed CSIT.
We mainly focus on linear beamforming and power allocation designs for ergodic sum rate maximisation.
The proposed designs enable higher sum rate than the conventional designs.
Interestingly, we propose a novel transmission framework which makes better use of statistical and delayed CSIT and smoothly bridges between statistical CSIT-based strategies and delayed CSIT-based strategies.
Second, we consider a multiuser massive MIMO system under partial and statistical CSIT.
In order to tackle multiuser interference incurred by partial CSIT, a Rate-Splitting (RS) transmission strategy has been proposed recently.
We generalise the idea of RS into the large-scale array.
By further exploiting statistical CSIT, we propose a novel framework Hierarchical-Rate-Splitting that is particularly suited to massive MIMO systems.
Third, we consider a multiuser Millimetre Wave (mmWave) system with hybrid analog/digital precoding under statistical and quantised CSIT.
We leverage statistical CSIT to design digital precoder for interference mitigation while all feedback overhead is reserved for precise analog beamforming.
For very limited feedback and/or very sparse channels, the proposed precoding scheme yields higher sum rate than the conventional precoding schemes under a fixed total feedback constraint.
Moreover, a RS transmission strategy is introduced to further tackle the multiuser interference, enabling remarkable saving in feedback overhead compared with conventional transmission strategies.
Finally, we investigate the downlink hybrid precoding for physical layer multicasting with a limited number of RF chains.
We propose a low complexity algorithm to compute the analog precoder that achieves near-optimal max-min performance.
Moreover, we derive a simple condition under which the hybrid precoding driven by a limited number of RF chains incurs no loss of optimality with respect to the fully digital precoding case.Open Acces
Downlink scheduling and resource allocation for 5G MIMO-multicarrier: OFDM vs FBMC/OQAM
OAPA The definition of the next generation of wireless communications, so-called 5G networks, is currently underway. Among many technical decisions, one that is particularly fundamental is the choice of the physical layer modulation format and waveform, an issue for which several alternatives have been proposed. Two of the most promising candidates are: (i) orthogonal frequency division multiple (OFDM), a conservative proposal that builds upon the huge legacy of 4G networks, and (ii) filterbank multicarrier/offset quadrature amplitude modulation (FBMC/OQAM), a progressive approach that in frequency selective channels sacrifices subcarrier orthogonality in lieu of an increased spectral efficiency. The comparative merits of OFDM and FBMC/OQAM have been well investigated over the last few years but mostly, from a purely physical layer point of view and largely neglecting how the physical layer performance translates into user-relevant metrics at the upper-layers. This paper aims at presenting a comprehensive comparison of both modulation formats in terms of practical network indicators such as goodput, delay, fairness and service coverage, and under operational conditions that can be envisaged to be realistic in 5G deployments. To this end, a unifying cross-layer framework is proposed that encompasses the downlink scheduling and resource allocation procedures and that builds upon a model of the queueing process at the data-link control layer and a physical layer abstraction that can be chosen to model either OFDM or FBMC/OQAM. Extensive numerical results conclusively demonstrate that most of the apriori advantages of FBMC/OQAM over OFDM do indeed translate into improved network indicators, that is, the increase in spectral efficiency achieved by FBMC/OQAM makes up for the distortion caused by the loss of orthogonality.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
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