Massive multiuser (MU) multiple-input multiple- output (MIMO) is foreseen to
be a key technology in future wireless communication systems. In this paper, we
analyze the downlink performance of an orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing (OFDM)-based massive MU-MIMO system in which the base station (BS)
is equipped with 1-bit digital-to-analog converters (DACs). Using Bussgang's
theorem, we characterize the performance achievable with linear precoders (such
as maximal-ratio transmission and zero forcing) in terms of bit error rate
(BER). Our analysis accounts for the possibility of oversampling the
time-domain transmit signal before the DACs. We further develop a lower bound
on the information-theoretic sum-rate throughput achievable with Gaussian
inputs.
Our results suggest that the performance achievable with 1-bit DACs in a
massive MU-MIMO-OFDM downlink are satisfactory provided that the number of BS
antennas is sufficiently large