Howard C. Huang

Multi-Cell MIMO Cooperative Networks: A New Look at Interference

This paper presents an overview of the theory and currently known techniques for multi-cell MIMO (multiple input multiple output) cooperation in wireless networks. In dense networks where interference emerges as the key capacity-limiting factor, multi-cell cooperation can dramatically improve the system performance. Remarkably, such techniques literally exploit inter-cell interference by allowing the user data to be jointly processed by several interfering base stations, thus mimicking the benefits of a large virtual MIMO array. Multi-cell MIMO cooperation concepts are examined from different perspectives, including an examination of the fundamental information-theoretic limits, a review of the coding and signal processing algorithmic developments, and, going beyond that, consideration of very practical issues related to scalability and system-level integration. A few promising and quite fundamental research avenues are also suggested.

Downlink capacity evaluation of cellular networks with known-interference cancellation

Recently, the capacity region of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian broadcast channel, with Gaussian codebooks and known-interference cancellation through dirty paper coding, was shown to equal the union of the capacity regions of a collection of MIMO multiple-access channels. We use this duality result to evaluate the system capacity achievable in a cellular wireless network with multiple antennas at the base station and multiple antennas at each terminal. Some fundamental properties of the rate region are exhibited and algorithms for determining the optimal weighted rate sum and the optimal covariance matrices for achieving a given rate vector on the boundary of the rate region are presented. These algorithms are then used in a simulation study to determine potential capacity enhancements to a cellular system through known-interference cancellation. We study both the circuit data scenario in which each user requires a constant data rate in every frame and the packet data scenario in which users can be assigned a variable rate in each frame so as to maximize the long-term average throughput. In the case of circuit data, the outage probability as a function of the number of active users served at a given rate is determined through simulations. For the packet data case, long-term average throughputs that can be achieved using the proportionally fair scheduling algorithm are determined. We generalize the zero-forcing beamforming technique to the multiple receive antennas case and use this as the baseline for the packet data throughput evaluation.

Approaching eigenmode BLAST channel capacity using V-BLAST with rate and power feedback

Multiple antennas at the transmitter and receiver can achieve enormous capacities by transmitting on the channels eigenmodes when the channel realization is known at the transmitter. If the transmitter has no knowledge of the channel, a significant fraction of the eigenmode capacity can be achieved in an open-loop mode, but multi-dimensional coding is required. We show how the open-loop capacity can be achieved with conventional single-dimensional coding using optimum successive decoding (OSD) and simple per-antenna rate control. Using power allocation, the capacity can be further increased, although only slightly.

Increasing downlink cellular throughput with limited network MIMO coordination

Single-user, multiuser, and network MIMO performance is evaluated for downlink cellular networks with 12 antennas per site, sectorization, universal frequency reuse, scheduled packet-data, and a dense population of stationary users. Compared to a single-user MIMO baseline system with 3 sectors per site, network MIMO coordination is found to increase throughput by a factor of 1.8 with intra-site coordination among antennas belonging to the same cell site. Intra-site coordination performs almost as well as a highly sectorized system with 12 sectors per site. Increasing the coordination cluster size from 1 to 7 sites increases the throughput gain factor to 2.5.

Linear Precoding in Cooperative MIMO Cellular Networks with Limited Coordination Clusters

In a cooperative multiple-antenna downlink cellular network, maximization of a concave function of user rates is considered. A new linear precoding technique called soft interference nulling (SIN) is proposed, which performs at least as well as zero-forcing (ZF) beamforming. All base stations share channel state information, but each users message is only routed to those that participate in the users coordination cluster. SIN precoding is particularly useful when clusters of limited sizes overlap in the network, in which case traditional techniques such as dirty paper coding or ZF do not directly apply. The SIN precoder is computed by solving a sequence of convex optimization problems. SIN under partial network coordination can outperform ZF under full network coordination at moderate SNRs. Under overlapping coordination clusters, SIN precoding achieves considerably higher throughput compared to myopic ZF, especially when the clusters are large.

A Wideband Spatial Channel Model for System-Wide Simulations

A wideband space-time channel model is defined, which captures the multiple dependencies and variability in multicell system-wide operating environments. The model provides a unified treatment of spatial and temporal parameters, giving their statistical description and dependencies across a large geographical area for three outdoor environments pertinent to third-generation cellular system simulations. Parameter values are drawn from a broad base of recently published wideband and multiple-antenna measurements. A methodology is given to generate fast-fading coefficients between a base station and a mobile user based on the summation of directional plane waves derived from the statistics of the space-time parameters. Extensions to the baseline channel model, such as polarized antennas, are given to provide a greater variety of spatial environments. Despite its comprehensive nature, the models implementation complexity is reasonable so it can be used in simulating large-scale systems. Output statistics and capacities are used to illustrate the main characteristics of the model

On transceiver design and channel quantization for downlink multiuser MIMO systems with limited feedback

We consider a MIMO broadcast channel where both the transmitter and receivers are equipped with multiple antennas. Channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT) is obtained through limited (i.e., finite-bandwidth) feedback from the receivers that index a set of precoding vectors contained in a predefined codebook. We propose a novel transceiver architecture based on zero-forcing beamforming and linear receiver combining. The receiver combining and quantization for CSIT feedback are jointly designed in order to maximize the expected SINR for each user. We provide an analytic characterization of the achievable throughput in the case of many users and show how additional receive antennas or higher multiuser diversity can reduce the required feedback rate to achieve a target throughput.We also propose a design methodology for generating codebooks tailored for arbitrary spatial correlation statistics. The resulting codebooks have a tree structure that can be utilized in time-correlated MIMO channels to significantly reduce feedback overhead. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the overall transceiver design strategy and codebook design methodology compared to prior techniques in a variety of correlation environments.

Limited Downlink Network Coordination in Cellular Networks

We investigate the downlink throughput of cellular systems where groups of M antennas - either co-located or spatially distributed - transmit to a subset of a total population of K > M users in a coherent, coordinated fashion in order to mitigate intercell interference. We consider two types of coordination: the capacity-achieving technique based on dirty paper coding (DPC), and a simpler technique based on zero-forcing (ZF) beamforming with per-antenna power constraints. During a given frame, a scheduler chooses the subset of the K users in order to maximize the weighted sum rate, where the weights are based on the proportional-fair scheduling algorithm. We consider the weighted average sum throughput among K users per cell in a multi-cell network where coordination is limited to a neighborhood of M antennas. Consequently, the performance of both systems is limited by interference from antennas that are outside of the M coordinated antennas. Compared to a 12-sector baseline which uses the same number of antennas per cell site, the throughput of ZF and DPC achieve respective gains of 1.5 and 1.75.

A Near-Optimum Technique using Linear Precoding for the MIMO Broadcast Channel

We consider the MIMO broadcast channel (MIMO-BC) where an array equipped with M antennas transmits distinct information to K users, each equipped with N antennas. We propose a linear precoding technique, called multiuser eigenmode transmission (MET), based on the block diagonalization precoding technique. MET addresses the shortcomings of previous ZF-based beamformers by transmitting to each user on one or more eigenmodes chosen using a greedy algorithm. We consider both the typical sum-power constraint (SPC), and a per-antenna power constraint (PAPC) motivated by array architectures where antennas are powered by separate amplifiers and are either co-located or spatially separated. Numerical results show that the proposed MET technique outperforms previous linear techniques with both SPC and PAPC. Asymptotically as the number of user K increases without bound, we show that block diagonalization with receive antenna selection under PAPC and SPC are asymptotically optimal.

Multiple antennas in cellular CDMA systems: transmission, detection, and spectral efficiency

Providing wireless high-speed packet data services for Web browsing and streaming multimedia applications will be a key feature in future code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. We study down-link CDMA schemes for providing such services using multiple antennas at the transmitter and receiver. We propose a generalization of the point-to-point narrowband Bell Labs layered space-time (BLAST) system to a wideband multiple access system which simultaneously supports multiple users through code spreading. We discuss transmission options for achieving transmit diversity and spatial separation and introduce a generalization of the vertical BLAST detector for CDMA signals. Using link level simulations, we determine the bit-error rates versus signal-to-interference ratio of the various transmitter options. We then describe a novel technique for determining the system spectral efficiency (measured in bits per second per Hertz per cell sector) by incorporating the link level results with system level outage simulations. Using four antennas at the transmitter and eight antennas at each receiver, the system can support multiple receivers at 16 times the voice rate, resulting in a system spectral efficiency an order magnitude higher than a conventional single-antenna voice system.