The idea of Media-based Modulation (MBM), is based on embedding information
in the variations of the transmission media (channel state). This is in
contrast to legacy wireless systems where data is embedded in a Radio Frequency
(RF) source prior to the transmit antenna. MBM offers several advantages vs.
legacy systems, including "additivity of information over multiple receive
antennas", and "inherent diversity over a static fading channel". MBM is
particularly suitable for transmitting high data rates using a single transmit
and multiple receive antennas (Single Input-Multiple Output Media-Based
Modulation, or SIMO-MBM). However, complexity issues limit the amount of data
that can be embedded in the channel state using a single transmit unit. To
address this shortcoming, the current article introduces the idea of Layered
Multiple Input-Multiple Output Media-Based Modulation (LMIMO-MBM). Relying on a
layered structure, LMIMO-MBM can significantly reduce both hardware and
algorithmic complexities, as well as the training overhead, vs. SIMO-MBM.
Simulation results show excellent performance in terms of Symbol Error Rate
(SER) vs. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). For example, a 4Γ16 LMIMO-MBM is
capable of transmitting 32 bits of information per (complex) channel-use,
with SER β10β5 at Ebβ/N0βββ3.5dB (or SER β10β4
at Ebβ/N0β=β4.5dB). This performance is achieved using a single transmission
and without adding any redundancy for Forward-Error-Correction (FEC). This
means, in addition to its excellent SER vs. energy/rate performance, MBM
relaxes the need for complex FEC structures, and thereby minimizes the
transmission delay. Overall, LMIMO-MBM provides a promising alternative to MIMO
and Massive MIMO for the realization of 5G wireless networks.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, additional examples are given to further
explain the idea of Media-Based Modulation. Capacity figure adde