Rui Dinis

Single Carrier Modulation With Nonlinear Frequency Domain Equalization: An Idea Whose Time Has Come—Again

In recent years single carrier modulation (SCM) has again become an interesting and complementary alternative to multicarrier modulations such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). This has been largely due to the use of nonlinear equalizer structures implemented in part in the frequency domain by means of fast Fourier transforms, bringing the complexity close to that of OFDM. Here a nonlinear equalizer is formed with a linear filter to remove part of intersymbol interference, followed by a canceler of remaining interference by using previous detected data. Moreover, the capacity of SCM is similar to that of OFDM in highly dispersive channels only if a nonlinear equalizer is adopted at the receiver. Indeed, the study of efficient nonlinear frequency domain equalization techniques has further pushed the adoption of SCM in various standards. This tutorial paper aims at providing an overview of nonlinear equalization methods as a key ingredient in receivers of SCM for wideband transmission. We review both hybrid (with filters implemented both in time and frequency domain) and all-frequency-domain iterative structures. Application of nonlinear frequency domain equalizers to a multiple input multiple output scenario is also investigated, with a comparison of two architectures for interference reduction. We also present methods for channel estimation and alternatives for pilot insertion. The impact on SCM transmission of impairments such as phase noise, frequency offset and saturation due to high power amplifiers is also assessed. The comparison among the considered frequency domain equalization techniques is based both on complexity and performance, in terms of bit error rate or throughput.

A multiple access scheme for the uplink of broadband wireless systems

We present a multiple access scheme for the uplink of broadband wireless systems. We consider SC (single carrier) based block transmission, with all users transmitting continuously, regardless of their data-rate. The transmitted signals can have very low envelope fluctuations. Moreover, the different users remain orthogonal, even for severe time-dispersive channels. By employing IB-DFE (iterative block decision feedback equalization) techniques we can have detection performances close to the matched filter bound, and even for fully loaded systems and severe time-dispersive channels.

On frequency-domain equalization and diversity combining for broadband wireless communications

This paper is concerned with the use of frequency-domain equalization (FDE) and space diversity within block transmission schemes for broadband wireless communications. The expected performance with both multicarrier (MC) and single-carrier (SC) modulations is emphasized, when a cyclic prefix, long enough to cope with the maximum relative channel delay, is appended to each transmitted block. A set of numerical results is presented and discussed, with the help of appropriate, analytical performance bounds which are conditional on a given channel realization. These bounds are used to explain the performance advantage of the SC/FDE option, the benefits of space diversity, and the impact of the criterion for computing the FDE parameters.

Iterative layered space-time receivers for single-carrier transmission over severe time-dispersive channels

This letter presents an iterative layered space-time (LST) receiver structure for single-carrier (SC)-based transmission in severe time-dispersive channels. The proposed receiver combines LST principles with iterative block decision feedback equalization (IB-DFE) techniques. Our performance results show that the proposed receivers have excellent performance in severe time-dispersive channels, which can be very close to the matched filter bound (MFB) after just a few iterations.

A class of nonlinear signal-processing schemes for bandwidth-efficient OFDM transmission with low envelope fluctuation

This work presents a wide class of digital signal-processing schemes for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission which combine a nonlinear operation in the time domain and a linear filtering operation in the frequency domain. The ultimate goal of these schemes is to reduce the envelope fluctuation of ordinary OFDM, while keeping its high spectral efficiency and allowing a low-cost, power-efficient implementation. An appropriate statistical model concerning the transmitted frequency-domain blocks is developed, which is derived from well-established results on Gaussian stochastic processes distorted by memoryless nonlinearities. This model can be employed for performance evaluation by analytical means, with highly accurate results whenever the corresponding conventional OFDM signals exhibit quasi-Gaussian characteristics. Cases where the signal-processing scheme is repeatedly used, in an iterative way, are treated through an extension of the proposed statistical modeling. A set of numerical results is presented and discussed so as to show the practical interest of both the proposed schemes and the analytical methods for evaluation of their performance. For the sake of comparisons, this paper includes numerical results concerning the partial transmit sequence technique, which is an alternative peak-to-mean envelope power ratio-reducing technique of higher complexity, often recommended due to its distortionless nature. The superior performance/complexity tradeoffs through the proposed class of nonlinear signal-processing schemes is emphasized.

A Turbo FDE Technique for Reduced-CP SC-Based Block Transmission Systems

For conventional cyclic-prefix (CP)-assisted block transmission systems, the CP length is selected on the basis of the expected maximum delay spread. With regard to single-carrier (SC)-based block transmission implementations, a full-length CP is recommendable, since it allows good performances through the use of simple frequency-domain equalization (FDE) techniques. In this letter, a soft-decision-directed correction (SDDC)-aided turbo FDE technique is presented for reduced-CP SC-based block transmission systems using conventional frame structures. The relations with some already known iterative FDE techniques are established, and a set of performance results is reported and discussed. The advantages of the proposed approach are emphasized, namely, the possibility of approximately achieving (besides the obvious bandwidth efficiency gain) the maximum power efficiency gain that a strong CP reduction allows

RSS-Based Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Convex Relaxation: Noncooperative and Cooperative Schemes

In this paper, we propose new approaches based on convex optimization to address the received signal strength (RSS)-based noncooperative and cooperative localization problems in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). By using an array of passive anchor nodes, we collect the noisy RSS measurements from radiating source nodes in WSNs, which we use to estimate the source positions. We derive the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator, since the ML-based solutions have particular importance due to their asymptotically optimal performance. However, the ML estimator requires the minimization of a nonconvex objective function that may have multiple local optima, thus making the search for the globally optimal solution hard. To overcome this difficulty, we derive a new nonconvex estimator, which tightly approximates the ML estimator for small noise. Then, the new estimator is relaxed by applying efficient convex relaxations that are based on second-order cone programming and semidefinite programming in the case of noncooperative and cooperative localization, respectively, for both cases of known and unknown source transmit power. We also show that our approaches work well in the case when the source transmit power and the path loss exponent are simultaneously unknown at the anchor nodes. Moreover, we show that the generalization of the new approaches for the localization problem in indoor environments is straightforward. Simulation results show that the proposed approaches significantly improve the localization accuracy, reducing the estimation error between 15% and 20% on average, compared with the existing approaches.

Channel Estimation for SC-FDE Systems Using Frequency Domain Multiplexed Pilots

We investigate channel estimation for single-carrier-frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) system using the techniques typically used for an orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) system. Two techniques of frequency domain multiplexed (FDM) pilot insertion using interleaved frequency domain multiple access (IFDMA) signal with a Chu sequence are considered. One called frequency domain superimposed pilot technique (FDSPT) scales data-carrying tones and then superimposes them with pilot tones. This technique preserves spectral efficiency at the expense of performance loss. The other, called frequency expanding technique (FET), shifts groups of data frequencies for multiplexing of pilot tones at the expense of spectral efficiency. Our results show that both techniques increase peak to average power ratio (PAPR) although it is still lower than that of an OFDM system. The application of FDSPT is limited by the pilot overhead ratio, resulting from the removal of data frequencies for pilot frequencies. It is shown that channel estimation using conventional time domain multiplexed pilots and FET pilot tones produce the same BER, while the FDSPT requires about 1.5 dB more power for the same performance. Using FDM pilots in SC system facilitates flexible and efficient assignment of signals to available spectrum.

On the performance evaluation of OFDM transmission using clipping techniques

This paper considers the use of digital clipping techniques for OFDM transmission, so as to reduce the envelope fluctuation of the transmitted signals. The impact of oversampling and filtering issues is taken into account, together with the type of clipping and the choice of the clipping level, when calculating power spectral densities and BER performances. Our results show that an appropriate envelope clipping, together with a small oversampling factor and a mild filtering, leads to the best performance and is strongly recommendable for OFDM applications.

Iterative Frequency-Domain Equalization for general constellations

IB-DFE (Iterative Block DFE) is a promising turbo equalization technique for SC-FDE schemes (Single-Carrier with Frequency Domain Equalization). However, typical IB-DFE implementations are tailored for a specific constellation (usually QPSK). In this paper we propose a general method for designing IB-DFE receivers for any constellation. Our approach relies on an analytical characterization of the mapping rule were the constellation symbols are written as a linear function of the transmitted bits. This method is then employed in both uniform and non-uniform QAM constellations.