We consider the downlink of a massive multiuser (MU) multiple-input
multiple-output (MIMO) system in which the base station (BS) is equipped with
low-resolution digital-to-analog converters (DACs). In contrast to most
existing results, we assume that the system operates over a frequency-selective
wideband channel and uses orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to
simplify equalization at the user equipments (UEs). Furthermore, we consider
the practically relevant case of oversampling DACs. We theoretically analyze
the uncoded bit error rate (BER) performance with linear precoders (e.g., zero
forcing) and quadrature phase-shift keying using Bussgang's theorem. We also
develop a lower bound on the information-theoretic sum-rate throughput
achievable with Gaussian inputs, which can be evaluated in closed form for the
case of 1-bit DACs. For the case of multi-bit DACs, we derive approximate, yet
accurate, expressions for the distortion caused by low-precision DACs, which
can be used to establish lower bounds on the corresponding sum-rate throughput.
Our results demonstrate that, for a massive MU-MIMO-OFDM system with a
128-antenna BS serving 16 UEs, only 3--4 DAC bits are required to achieve an
uncoded BER of 10^-4 with a negligible performance loss compared to the
infinite-resolution case at the cost of additional out-of-band emissions.
Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of taking into account the
inherent spatial and temporal correlations caused by low-precision DACs