Iterative receivers for space-time block-coded OFDM systems indispersive fading channels

We consider the design of iterative receivers for space-time block-coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (STBC-OFDM) systems in unknown wireless dispersive fading channels, with or without outer channel coding. First, we propose a maximum-likelihood (ML) receiver for STBC-OFDM systems based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. By assuming that the fading processes remain constant over the duration of one STBC code word and by exploiting the orthogonality property of the STBC as well as the OFDM modulation, we show that the EM-based receiver has a very low computational complexity and that the initialization of the EM receiver is based on the linear minimum mean square error (MMSE) channel estimate for both the pilot and the data transmission. Since the actual fading processes may vary within one STBC code word, we also analyze the effect of a modeling mismatch on the receiver performance and show both analytically and through simulations that the performance degradation due to such a mismatch is negligible for practical Doppler frequencies. We further propose a turbo receiver based on the maximum a posteriori-EM algorithm for STBC-OFDM systems with outer channel coding. Compared with the previous noniterative receiver employing a decision-directed linear channel estimator, the iterative receivers proposed here significantly improve the receiver performance and can approach the ML performance in typical wireless channels with very fast fading, at a reasonable computational complexity well suited for real-time implementations     

Low-density parity-check codes for space-time wireless transmission

Irregular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have shown exceptionally good performance for single antenna systems over a wide class of channels. In this paper, we investigate their application to multiple antenna systems in flat Rayleigh fading channels. For small transmit arrays, we focus mainly on space-time coding with 2/sup p/-ary LDPC codes, where p equals the number of encoded bits transmitted by the transmit antenna array during each signaling interval. For large transmit arrays, we study a layered space-time architecture using binary LDPC codes as component codes of each layer: We show through simulation that, when applied to multiple antenna systems with high diversity order, LDPC codes of quasi-regular construction are able to achieve higher coding gain and/or diversity gain than previously proposed space-time trellis codes, space-time turbo codes, and convolutional codes in a number of fading conditions. Extending the work of density evolution with Gaussian approximation, we study 2/sup p/-ary LDPC codes on multiple antenna fading channels, and search for the optimum 2/sup p/-ary quasi-regular codes in quasi-static fading. We also show that on fast fading channels, 2/sup p/-ary irregular LDPC codes, though designed for static channels, have superior performance to nonbinary quasiregular codes and binary irregular codes specifically designed for fast fading channels.     

Cyclic delay diversity with frequency domain turbo equalization for uplink fast fading channels

Cyclic delay diversity (CDD) is an attractive diversity technique due to its low complexity and compatibility to existing wireless communication systems. This letter proposes a CDD with frequency domain turbo equalization (FDTE) for single carrier (SC) transmission, in order to achieve the full spatial diversity of frequency-selective multi-antenna channels. The frequency diversity inherent in SC is picked up from the increased channel selectivity of CDD. The noise or intersymbol interference enhanced by equalization for highly selective channels is then mitigated through applying FDTE at the receiver. Simulation results show that the performance of proposed system approaches the corresponding orthogonal spacetime block coding (STBC) system in slowly fading channels without any data rate loss, and considerably outperforms the STBC system in fast fading channels.     

Space-time overlays for convolutionally coded systems

We consider the design of space-time overlays to upgrade single-antenna wireless communication systems to accommodate multiple transmit antennas efficiently. We define the overlay constraint such that the signal transmitted from the first antenna in the upgraded system is the same as that in the single-antenna system. The signals transmitted from the remaining antennas are designed according to space-time coding principles to achieve full spatial diversity in quasi-static flat fading channels. For both binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) and quaternary phase-shift keying modulation systems, we develop an algebraic design framework that exploits the structure of existing single-dimensional convolutional codes in designing overlays that achieve full spatial diversity with minimum additional decoding complexity at the receiver. We also investigate a concatenated coding approach for a BPSK overlay design in which the inner code is an orthogonal block code. This approach is shown to yield near optimal asymptotic performance for quasi-static fading channels. We conclude by offering a brief discussion outlining the extension of the proposed techniques to time-varying block fading channels.     

Constructing Space-Time Trellis Codes Using Orthogonal Designs

In this paper we consider the design of space-time trellis codes usingorthogonal designs. We derive a condition on the codewords to obtainthe maximum received signal energy and show that the codes based onorthogonal designs satisfy this condition.We consider in detail the design of a trellis code for two transmitantennas. The new code we develophas a higher diversity in fast fading and a higher coding gain in quasi-static fading when compared to otherexisting space-time codes. We also consider a turbo implementation ofthe new trellis code which results in very high diversity gains infast fading channels.     

Generalized layered space-time codes for high data rate wireless communications

We present the architecture of generalized layered space-time codes (GLST) as a combination of Bell Labs layered space-time (BLAST) architecture and space-time coding (STC) in multiple-antenna wireless communication systems. This approach provides both spectral and power efficiency with moderate complexity. The framework is to partition all the available transmit antennas into groups and apply STC on each group as component codes. Based on the mappings from coded symbols to transmit antenna groups, we can construct different GLST systems. Particularly, horizontal mapping and diagonal mapping are introduced and referred to as HGLST and DGLST respectively. The basic decoding of GLST, under quasi-static flat Rayleigh fading environments and assuming perfectly known channel state information (CSI) at the receiver, combines group interference suppression and group interference cancellation techniques. As a result, the individual STC on each group is decoded serially. To improve the overall system performance, we derive the optimal power allocation among all space-time codewords without requiring the knowledge of CSI at the transmitter and suitable for all GLST systems. We also derive the optimal serial decoding order based on the channel realizations at the receiver for HGLST systems without power allocation. Simulation results show that both can provide much improvement. To further enhance the system performance, we propose a low complexity hard-decision iterative decoding method. This method efficiently exploits full receive antenna diversity and, hence, dramatically improves the system performance which is confirmed by simulation.     

On the design of space-time and space-frequency codes for MIMO frequency-selective fading channels

The authors introduced an algebraic design framework for space-time coding in flat-fading channels . We extend this framework to design algebraic codes for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) frequency-selective fading channels. The proposed codes strive to optimally exploit both the spatial and frequency diversity available in the channel. We consider two design approaches: The first uses space-time coding and maximum likelihood decoding to exploit the multi-path nature of the channel at the expense of increased receiver complexity. Within this time domain framework, we also propose a serially concatenated coding construction which is shown to offer a performance gain with a reasonable complexity iterative receiver in some scenarios. The second approach utilizes the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing technique to transform the MIMO multipath channel into a MIMO flat block fading channel. The algebraic framework is then used to construct space-frequency codes (SFC) that optimally exploit the diversity available in the resulting flat block fading channel. Finally, the two approaches are compared in terms of decoder complexity, maximum achievable diversity advantage, and simulated frame error rate performance in certain representative scenarios.     

Transmit antennae space-time block coding for generalized OFDM inthe presence of unknown multipath

Transmit antenna diversity has been exploited to develop high-performance space-time coders and simple maximum-likelihood decoders for transmissions over flat fading channels. Relying on block precoding, this paper develops generalized space-time coded multicarrier transceivers appropriate for wireless propagation over frequency-selective multipath channels. Multicarrier precoding maps the frequency-selective channel into a set of flat fading subchannels, whereas space-time encoding/decoding facilitates equalization and achieves performance gains by exploiting the diversity available with multiple transmit antennas. When channel state information is unknown at the receiver, it is acquired blindly based on a deterministic variant of the constant-modulus algorithm that exploits the structure of space-time block codes. To benchmark performance, the Cramer-Rao bound of the channel estimates is also derived. System performance is evaluated both analytically and with simulations     

Single-carrier space-time block-coded transmissions over frequency-selective fading channels

We study space-time block coding for single-carrier block transmissions over frequency-selective multipath fading channels. We propose novel transmission schemes that achieve a maximum diversity of order N/sub t/N/sub r/(L+1) in rich scattering environments, where N/sub t/ (N/sub r/) is the number of transmit (receive) antennas, and L is the order of the finite impulse response (FIR) channels. We show that linear receiver processing collects full antenna diversity, while the overall complexity remains comparable to that of single-antenna transmissions over frequency-selective channels. We develop transmissions enabling maximum-likelihood optimal decoding based on Viterbi's ( 1998) algorithm, as well as turbo decoding. With single receive and two transmit antennas, the proposed transmission format is capacity achieving. Simulation results demonstrate that joint exploitation of space-multipath diversity leads to significantly improved performance in the presence of frequency-selective fading channels.     

Sampling-based soft equalization for frequency-selective MIMO channels

We consider the problem of channel equalization in broadband wireless multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems over frequency-selective fading channels, based on the sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) sampling techniques for Bayesian inference. Built on the technique of importance sampling, the stochastic sampler generates weighted random MIMO symbol samples and uses resampling to rejuvenate the sample streams; whereas the deterministic sampler, a heuristic modification of the stochastic counterpart, recursively performs exploration and selection steps in a greedy manner in both space and time domains. Such a space-time sampling scheme is very effective in combating both intersymbol interference and cochannel interference caused by frequency-selective channel and multiple transmit and receiver antennas. The proposed sampling-based MIMO equalizers significantly outperform the decision-feedback MIMO equalizers with comparable computational complexity. More importantly, being soft-input soft-output in nature, these sampling-based MIMO equalizers can be employed as the first-stage soft demodulator in a turbo receiver for coded broadband MIMO systems. Such a turbo receiver successively improves the receiver performance through iterative equalization, channel re-estimation, and channel decoding. Finally, computer simulation results are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed sampling-based soft MIMO equalizers in both uncoded and turbo coded systems.     

Linear turbo equalization for parallel ISI channels

We propose a method for exploiting transmit diversity using parallel independent intersymbol interference channels together with an iterative equalizing receiver. Linear iterative turbo equalization (LITE) employs an interleaver in the transmitter and passes a priori information on the transmitted symbols between multiple soft-input/soft-output minimum mean-square error linear equalizers in the receiver. We describe the LITE algorithm, present simulations for both stationary and fading channels, and develop a framework for analyzing the evolution of the a priori information as the algorithm iterates.     

Iterative receivers for multiuser space-time coding systems

Space-time coding (STC) techniques, which combine antenna array signal processing and channel coding techniques, are very promising approaches to substantial capacity increase in wireless channels. Multiuser detection techniques are powerful signal processing methodologies for interference suppression in CDMA systems. In this paper, by drawing analogies between a synchronous CDMA system and an STC multiuser system, we study the applications of some multiuser detection methods to STC multiuser systems. Specifically, we show that the so-called “turbo multiuser detection” technique, which performs soft interference cancellation and decoding iteratively, can be applied to STC multiuser systems in flat-fading channels. An iterative multiuser receiver and its projection-based variants are developed for both the space-time block coding (STBC) system and the space-time trellis coding (STTC) system. During iterations, extrinsic information is computed and exchanged between a soft multiuser demodulator and a bank of MAP decoders, to achieve successively refined estimates of the users' signals. Computer simulations demonstrate that the proposed iterative receiver techniques provide significant performance improvement over conventional noniterative methods in both single-user and multiuser STC systems. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed iterative multiuser receiver approaches that of the iterative single-user receiver in both STBC and STTC systems     

Comparison of Convolutional and Turbo Coding for Broadband FWA Systems

It has been demonstrated that turbo codes substantially outperform other codes, e.g., convolutional codes, both in the non-fading additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel as well as multiple-transmit and multiple-receive antenna fading channels. Moreover, it has also been reported that turbo codes perform very well in fast fading channels, but perform somewhat poorly on slow and block fading channels of which the broadband fixed wireless access (FWA) channel is an example. In this paper, we thoroughly compare the performance of turbo-coded and convolutional-coded broadband FWA systems both with and without antenna diversity under the condition of identical complexity for a variety of decoding algorithms. In particular, we derive mathematical expressions to characterize the complexity of turbo decoding based on state-of-the-art Log-MAP and Max-Log-MAP algorithms as well as convolutional decoding based on the Viterbi algorithm in terms of the number of equivalent addition operations. Simulation results show that turbo codes do not offer any performance advantage over convolutional codes in FWA systems without antenna diversity or FWA systems with limited antenna diversity. Indeed, turbo codes only outperform convolutional codes in FWA systems having significant antenna diversity.     

Co-channel interference cancellation for space-time coded OFDM systems

Space-time coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising scheme for future wideband multimedia wireless communication systems. The combination of space-time coding (STC) and OFDM modulation promises an enhanced performance in terms of power and spectral efficiency. Such combination benefits from the diversity gain within the multiple-input-multiple-output ST coded system and the matured OFDM modulation for wideband wireless transmission. However, STC transmit diversity impairs the system's interference suppression ability due to the use of multiple transmitters at each mobile. We propose an effective co-channel interference (CCI) cancellation method that employs angle diversity based on -steering beamforming or minimum variance distortion response beamforming. It is shown that the proposed method can effectively mitigate CCI while preserving the space-time structure, thereby, significantly improving the system's interference suppression ability without significant bit-error rate performance degradation. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the proposed method can significantly combat the delay spread detrimental effects over multipath fading channels without the use of interleaving.     

Turbo space-time processing to improve wireless channel capacity

By deriving a generalized Shannon capacity formula for multiple-input, multiple-output Rayleigh fading channels, and by suggesting a layered space-time architecture concept that attains a tight lower bound on the capacity achievable. Foschini (see Wireless Pers. Commun., vol.6, no.3, p.311-35, 1998) has shown a potential enormous increase in the information capacity of a wireless system employing multiple-element antenna arrays at both the transmitter and receiver. The layered space-time architecture allows signal processing complexity to grow linearly, rather than exponentially, with the promised capacity increase. This paper includes two important contributions. First, we show that Foschini's lower bound is, in fact, the Shannon bound when the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the space-time processing in each layer is represented by the corresponding "matched filter" bound. This proves the optimality of the layered space-time concept. Second, we present an embodiment of this concept for a coded system operating at a low average SNR and in the presence of possible intersymbol interference. This embodiment utilizes the already advanced space-time filtering, coding and turbo processing techniques to provide yet a practical solution to the processing needed. Performance results are provided for quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels with no channel estimation errors. We see for the first time that the Shannon capacity for wireless communications can be both increased by N times (where N is the number of the antenna elements at the transmitter and receiver) and achieved within about 3 dB in average SNR about 2 dB of which is a loss due to the practical coding scheme we assume-the layered space-time processing itself is nearly information-lossless.     

INTERFERENCE SUPPRESSING FOR CELLULAR MIMO SYSTEM BASED ON TURBO RECEIVER

Space-Time Coding （STC）, which combines channel coding, modulation, and multiple transmit antennas, is a powerful scheme to achieve higher data rates and combat fading in wireless systems, in this paper, we propose a soil/cancellation turbo equalization scheme to suppress Co-Channel Interference （CCI） in STC systems. The simulation results show that the proposed method significantly improves the system＇s ability of interference suppression, while preserving the space-time structure.     

Turbo processing in transmit antenna diversity systems

We consider turbo-trellis-coded transmission over fading multiple-input-multiple-output (M1M0) channels with transmit diversity using space-time block codes. We give a new view on space-time block codes as a transformation of the fading MIMO channel towards a Gaussian single-input-single-output (siso) channel and provide analytical results on the BER of space-time block codes. Furthermore, we describe the concatenation of Turbo-TCM with a space-time block code and show that in addition to the transmit diversity substantial benefits can be obtained by turbo iterations as long as the channel is time-varying during transmission of a coded block or frequency hopping is applied. Finally, a double iterative scheme for turbo equalization and turbo decoding of the concatenation of Turbo-TCM and space-time block code in frequency-selective MIMO channels is described.     

An Iterative Receiver for Uplink of Coded MIMO DS-CDMA System Employing Layered Space-Time Transmission

We consider a coded multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) DS-CDMA system using layered space-time transmission in multipath wireless channels, where space-time signals from multiple antennas of multiple users propagate through rich scattering multipath fading. We propose a receiver employing iterative joint detection and decoding with a reduced-complexity detector using linear minimum mean squared error filtering with a priori information and parallel soft-input soft-output (SISO) decoders. Computer simulation results show that the proposed receiver for multi-user MIMO transmission provides high-spectral efficiency and performance approaching to single-user bound. Furthermore, the reduced-complexity receiver outperforms an iterative soft decision-directed maximal ratio combining (DD-MRC) receiver, RAKE receiver as well as a conventional non-iterative receiver.     

Space-time code design for CPFSK modulation over frequency-nonselective fading channels

We derive a novel space-time code (STC) design criterion for continuous-phase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK) over frequency-nonselective fading channels. Our derivation is based on a specific matrix that is related to the input symbols of the CPFSK modulators. With this code-design criterion, we propose a simple interleaved space-time encoding scheme for CPFSK modulation over frequency-nonselective correlated fading channels to exploit potential temporal and spatial diversity advantages. Such an encoding scheme consists of a ring convolutional encoder and a spatial encoder, between which a convolutional interleaver is placed. A decoding algorithm that generates symbol metrics for the Viterbi decoder of convolutional codes from the spatial modulation trellis is examined. Simulation results confirm that the advantages of the combination of the interleaved convolutional encoding (for temporal diversity) and the spatial encoding (for spatial diversity) are promising for various system parameters.