Analysis and optimization of pilot symbol-assisted Rake receivers for DS-CDMA systems

The effect of imperfect channel estimation (CE) on the performance of pilot-symbol-assisted modulation (PSAM) and MRC Rake reception over time- or frequency-selective fading channels with either a uniform power delay profile (UPDP) or a nonuniform power delay profile (NPDP) is investigated. For time-selective channels, a Wiener filter or linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) filter for CE is considered, and a closed-form asymptotic expression for the mean square error (MSE) when the number of pilots used for CE approaches infinity is derived. In high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the MSE becomes independent of the channel Doppler spectrum. A characteristic function method is used to derive new closed-form expressions for the bit error rate (BER) of Rake receivers in UPDP and NPDP channels. The results are extended to two-dimensional (2-D) Rake receivers. The pilot-symbol spacing and pilot-to-data power ratio are optimized by minimizing the BER. For UPDP channels, elegant results are obtained in the asymptotic case. Furthermore, robust spacing design criteria are derived for the maximum Doppler frequency

Power delay profile and noise variance estimation for OFDM

In this letter, we present cyclic-prefix (CP) based noise-variance and power-delay-profile estimators for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Signal correlation due to the use of the CP is exploited without requiring additional pilot symbols. A heuristic estimator and a class of approximate maximum likelihood (ML) estimators are proposed. The proposed algorithms can be applied to both unitary and non-unitary constellations. These algorithms can be readily used for applications such as minimum mean-square error (MMSE) channel estimation

Joint data detection and channel estimation for OFDM systems

We develop new blind and semi-blind data detectors and channel estimators for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Our data detectors require minimizing a complex, integer quadratic form in the data vector. The semi-blind detector uses both channel correlation and noise variance. The quadratic for the blind detector suffers from rank deficiency; for this, we give a low-complexity solution. Avoiding a computationally prohibitive exhaustive search, we solve our data detectors using sphere decoding (SD) and V-BLAST and provide simple adaptations of the SD algorithm. We consider how the blind detector performs under mismatch, generalize the basic data detectors to nonunitary constellations, and extend them to systems with pilots and virtual carriers. Simulations show that our data detectors perform well

On Multiple Symbol Detection for Diagonal DUSTM Over Ricean Channels

This letter considers multiple symbol differential detection for multiple-antenna systems over flat Ricean-fading channels when partial channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitter. Using the maximum likelihood (ML) principle, and assuming perfect knowledge of the channel mean, we derive the optimal multiple symbol detection (MSD) rule for diagonal differential unitary space-time modulation (DUSTM). This rule is used to develop a sphere decoding bound intersection detector (SD-BID) with low complexity. A suboptimal MSD based decision feedback DD (DF-DD) algorithm is also derived. The simulation results show that our proposed MSD algorithms reduce the error floor of conventional differential detection and that the computational complexity of these new algorithms is reasonably low

On multiple access random medium access control

In this paper, we develop a new class of medium access control protocol, which allows each user to transmit at different data rates chosen randomly from an appropriately determined set of rates. By using successive interference cancellation, multiple packets can be received simultaneously. In slotted Aloha type Gaussian networks, we show that the achievable total throughput of the proposed protocol is at least a constant fraction of the mac sum rate when the number of transmission rates at each node is equal to the number of users in the network. We also study the case when only a limited number of transmission rates is available at each node. Extension to rate splitting is discussed. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol can achieve a significant throughput gain over the conventional Aloha

Bound-intersection detection for multiple-symbol differential unitary space-time modulation

This paper considers multiple-symbol differential detection (MSD) of differential unitary space-time modulation (DUSTM) over multiple-antenna systems. We derive a novel exact maximum-likelihood (ML) detector, called the bound-intersection detector (BID), using the extended Euclidean algorithm for single-symbol detection of diagonal constellations. While the ML search complexity is exponential in the number of transmit antennas and the data rate, our algorithm, particularly in high signal-to-noise ratio, achieves significant computational savings over the naive ML algorithm and the previous detector based on lattice reduction. We also develop four BID variants for MSD. The first two are ML and use branch-and-bound, the third one is suboptimal, which first uses BID to generate a candidate subset and then exhaustively searches over the reduced space, and the last one generalizes decision-feedback differential detection. Simulation results show that the BID and its MSD variants perform nearly ML, but do so with significantly reduced complexity

Blind Receiver Design for OFDM Systems Over Doubly Selective Channels

We develop blind data detectors for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems over doubly selective channels by exploiting both frequency-domain and time-domain correlations of the received signal. We thus derive two blind data detectors: a time-domain data detector and a frequency-domain data detector. We also contribute a reduced complexity, suboptimal version of a time-domain data detector that performs robustly when the normalized Doppler rate is less than 3%. Our frequency-domain data detector and suboptimal time-domain data detector both result in integer least-squares (LS) problems. We propose the use of the V-BLAST detector and the sphere decoder. The time-domain data detector is not limited to the Doppler rates less than 3%, but cannot be posed as an integer LS problem. Our solution is to develop an iterative algorithm that starts from the suboptimal time-domain data detector output. We also propose channel estimation and prediction algorithms using a polynomial expansion model, and these estimators work with data detectors (decision-directed mode) to reduce the complexity. The estimators for the channel statistics and the noise variance are derived using the likelihood function for the data. Our blind data detectors are fairly robust against the parameter mismatch

Semiblind Channel Estimation and Data Detection for OFDM Systems With Optimal Pilot Design

This paper considers semiblind channel estimation and data detection for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) over frequency-selective fading channels. We show that the samples of an OFDM symbol are jointly complex Gaussian distributed, where the mean and covariance are determined by the locations and values of fixed pilot symbols. We exploit this distribution to derive a novel maximum-likelihood (ML) semiblind gradient-descent channel estimator. By exploiting the channel impulse response (CIR) statistics, we also derive a semiblind data detector for both Rayleigh and Ricean fading channels. Furthermore, we develop an enhanced data detector, which uses the estimator error statistics to mitigate the effect of channel estimation errors. Efficient implementation of both the semiblind and the improved data detectors is provided via sphere decoding and nulling-canceling detection. We also derive the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) and design optimal pilots by minimizing the CRB. Our proposed channel estimator and data detector exhibit high bandwidth efficiency (requiring only a few pilot symbols), achieve the CRB, and also nearly reach the performance of an ideal reference receiver

Generalized feedback detection for spatial multiplexing multi-antenna systems

We present a unified detection framework for spatial multiplexing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems by generalizing Heller’s classical feedback decoding algorithm for convolutional codes. The resulting generalized feedback detector (GFD) is characterized by three parameters: window size, step size and branch factor. Many existing MIMO detectors are turned out to be special cases of the GFD. Moreover, different parameter choices can provide various performance-complexity tradeoffs. The connection between MIMO detectors and tree search algorithms is also established. To reduce redundant computations in the GFD, a shared computation technique is proposed by using a tree data structure. Using a union bound based analysis of the symbol error rates, the diversity order and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain are derived analytically as functions of the three parameters; for example, the diversity order of the GFD varies between 1 and N. The complexity of the GFD varies between those of the maximum-likelihood (ML) detector and the zero-forcing decision feedback detector (ZFDFD). Extensive computer simulation results are also provided

Differential modulation for two-way wireless communications: a perspective of differential network coding at the physical layer

This work considers two-way relay channels (TWRC), where two terminals transmit simultaneously to each other with the help of a relay node. For single antenna systems, we propose several new transmission schemes for both amplify-and-forward (AF) protocol and decode-and-forward (DF) protocol where the channel state information is not required. These new schemes are the counterpart of the traditional noncoherent detection or differential detection in point-to-point communications. Differential modulation design for TWRC is challenging because the received signal is a mixture of the signals from both source terminals. We derive maximum likelihood (ML) detectors for both AF and DF protocols, where the latter can be considered as performing differential network coding at the physical layer. As the exact ML detector is prohibitively complex, we propose several suboptimal alternatives including decision feedback detectors and prediction-based detectors. All these strategies work well as evidenced by the simulation results. The proposed protocols are especially useful when the required average data rate is high. In addition, we extend the protocols to the multiple-antenna case and provide the design criterion of the differential unitary space time modulation (DUSTM) for TWRC