METHOD FOR SIGNAL TRANSMISSION TO MULTIPLE USER EQUIPMENTS UTILIZING RECIPROCITY OF WIRELESS CHANNEL

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for transmitting a signal to multiple User Equipments (UEs) utilizing reciprocity of a wireless channel. In this method, a vector channel from the base station to each UE can be converted into an equivalent Single Input Single Output (SISO) channel having a strong Light-of-Sight (LOS) component using channel feedback. In this way, a reliable signal transmission to multiple UEs can be achieved with little channel training overhead. The present disclosure has prominent advantages such as simplicity in implementation, low processing complexity and very low channel training overhead and is particularly applicable in low-speed transmission of broadcast signaling in a massive MIMO system and scenarios where the base station is to page inactive UEs.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to multi-user multi-antenna systems in wireless communications, and more particularly, to a method for signal transmission to multiple User Equipments (UEs) utilizing reciprocity of a wireless channel.

BACKGROUND

As introduced by IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 9, no. 11, pp. 3590-3600, 2010, by providing hundreds of antennas at a base station to serve tens of UEs simultaneously in the same time-frequency resource blocks, a massive MIMO system can greatly improve spectrum efficiency and energy radiation efficiency of a cellular network. In general, such massive MIMO system operates in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode, so as to utilize reciprocity between uplink and downlink channels to obtain Channel State Information (CSI) based on orthogonal uplink trainings, thereby significantly reducing pilot overheads due to channel training (the optimal pilot-based channel training requires orthogonality between pilot sequences transmitted from different antennas and thus a pilot length larger than or equal to the total number of transmitting antennas). The base station performs multi-user detection (in the uplink) or precoding (in the downlink) based on the estimated CSI to obtain a multiplexing gain or an array gain, thereby improving the effectiveness and reliability of information transmission. However, when the base station needs to broadcast control signaling or page inactive UEs, it cannot obtain the multiplexing gain or array gain due to lack of CSI for these UEs. On the other hand, in this case the orthogonal uplink channel trainings are not applicable (as it is impossible to guarantee the orthogonality between pilot sequences for different UEs when they are selected by the UEs autonomously). The pilot and feedback overheads for orthogonal downlink channel trainings are too costly to be acceptable. Hence, the transmission of broadcast signaling becomes quite challenging.

SUMMARY

An object of the present disclosure is to solve the problem in the related art associated with high overheads required for downlink channel training based on orthogonal pilots.

In order to solve the above technical problem, a method for signal transmission is provided. The method is applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system operating in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode and including a base station and a number, K, of User Equipments (UEs). The base station is configured with M antennas. Each UE is configured with one receiving antenna or configured to combine signals from a plurality of receiving antennas to obtain one scalar channel output. Each UE maintains ideal synchronization with the base station. One downlink transmission period is discretized into T timeslots. Reciprocal uplink and downlink channels remain unchanged during the T timeslots. An uplink channel from a UE k to the base station is denoted as h_k, and a downlink channel from the base station to the UE k is denoted as h_k^†, where t denotes conjugate transpose. The method includes:

S1: in the first timeslot, transmitting, by the UE k, a constant signal to the base station, such that a signal received by the base station is a simple addition of an uplink channel from the UE to the base station and a noise, i.e., y_BS[1]=Σ_k=1^Kh_k+z_BS[1], where y_BS[1] denotes a signal received by the base station in the first timeslot and z_BS[1] denotes a noise at the base station;

S2: in the second timeslot, multiplying, by the base station, the signal y_BS[1] received in the first timeslot with a power adjustment factor a and feeding ay_BS[1] back to all the UEs by means of broadcast, such that a signal received by a UE f in the second timeslot is y_j[2]=h_j^†ay_BS[1]+z_j[2]≙g_j[2], where z_j[2] is a noise at the UE j and g_j=a(h_j^†Σ_k=1^Kh_k+h_j^†z_BS[1]), and the UE j estimates g_j based on the signal y_j[2] received in the second timeslot to obtain an estimated value ĝ_j; and

S3: in the t-th timeslot, where t=3, . . . , T, precoding, by the base station, a signal x_BS[t] to be broadcasted to the UEs in the t-th timeslot based on ay_BS[1], and broadcasting ax_BS[t]y_BS[1] to all the UEs, such that a signal received by the UE j in the t-th timeslot is y_j[t]=g_jx_BS[t]+z_j[t], where z_j[t] is a noise at the UE j; and the UE j demodulates x_BS[t] based on ĝ_j.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step S1, the con signal is normalized to a transmission power of the UE.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step S1, the noise z_BS[1] at the base station is an independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise, i.e., z_BS[1]˜(0,σ_BS²I_M), where σ_BS² is a noise power at the base station, I_M is an M-dimensional identity matrix, and (0,σ_BS²I_M) denotes an M-dimensional cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σ_BS²I_M.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step S2, the power adjustment factor a satisfies a=1/√{square root over (MK)}.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step S2, the noise z_j[2] at the UE j is a Gaussian noise, i.e., z_j[2]˜(0,σ_UE²), where σ_UE² is a noise power at the UE, and (0,σ_UE²) denotes a cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σ_UE².

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step S2, ĝ_j is estimated using a least square method, i.e., ĝ_j=y_j[2].

A method for transmitting a signal is also provided. The method is applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system operating in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode and including a base station and a number, K, of User Equipments (UEs). The base station is configured with M antennas. Each UE is configured with one receiving antenna or configured to combine signals from a plurality of receiving antennas to obtain one scalar channel output. Each UE maintains ideal synchronization with the base station. One downlink transmission period is discretized into T timeslots. Reciprocal uplink and downlink channels remain unchanged during the T timeslots. An uplink channel from a UE k to the base station is denoted as h_k, and a downlink channel from the base station to the UE k being denoted as h_k^†. The method includes:

S1: in the first timeslot, transmitting, by the UE k, a constant signal to the base station, such that a signal received by the base station is a simple addition of an uplink channel from the UE to the base station and a noise, i.e., y_BS[1]=Σ_k=1^Kh_k+z_BS[1], where z_BS[1]˜(0,σ_BS²I_M) denotes a noise at the base station; and

S2: in the t-th timeslot, where t=2, . . . , T, applying, by the base station, a differential modulation to data to be broadcasted to the UEs in the t-th timeslot, so as to obtain a modulated signal x_BS[t] first, then precoding x_BS[t] based on y_BS[1]/√{square root over (MK)}, and broadcasting y_BS[1]x_BS[t]/√{square root over (MK)} to all the UEs, such that a signal received by a UE j in the t-th timeslot is

$y_j\left[t\right]=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mathrm{MK}}}h_j^{†}y_{\mathrm{BS}}\left[1\right]x_{\mathrm{BS}}\left[t\right]\stackrel{\Delta }{=}g_jx_{\mathrm{BS}}\left[t\right]+z_j\left[t\right],\mathrm{where}g_j=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mathrm{MK}}}h_j^{†}y_{\mathrm{BS}}\left[1\right],$

z_j[t]˜(0,σ_UE²) is a noise at the UE j, and the UE j applies incoherent differential demodulation to the signal broadcasted from the base station without performing any explicit channel estimation.

A method for transmitting a signal is also provided. The method is applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system comprising a base station and a plurality of User Equipments (UEs). The UEs are divided into a number of groups. The UEs in different groups occupy different sub-carriers and the UEs in each group transmit signals according to any of the above methods.

The present disclosure has prominent advantages such as simplicity in implementation, low processing complexity and very low channel training overhead and is particularly applicable in low-speed transmission of broadcast signaling in a massive MIMO system and scenarios where the base station is to page inactive UEs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of an equivalent SISO channel g_j between a base station and a UE when M=100, K=5, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (20)},1).

FIG. 2 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of g_j when M=100, K=50, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (2)},1).

FIG. 3 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of g_j when M=100, K=500, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (0.2)},1).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a method for transmitting a broadcast signal utilizing reciprocity of a wireless channel. It is a method for efficient transmission of downlink broadcast signaling. Its principle is to improve the reliability in transmission of the broadcast signaling by utilizing reciprocity between an uplink channel and a downlink channel in a TDD mode, while significantly reducing channel training overhead.

The present disclosure is applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system operating in a TDD mode and comprising a base station and a number, K, of UEs. The base station is configured with M antennas. Each UE is configured with one receiving antenna or configured to combine signals from a plurality of receiving antennas to obtain one scalar channel output. Each UE maintains ideal synchronization with the base station. One downlink transmission period is discretized into T timeslots. Reciprocal uplink and downlink channels remain unchanged during the T timeslots. If an uplink channel from a UE k to the base station is denoted as h_k, a downlink channel from the base station to the UE k is denoted as h_k^†, where t denotes conjugate transpose.

At S1, in the first timeslot, all of the UEs transmit a same constant (as the UEs do not have CSI, they cannot perform uplink power control; the constant can be normalized to 1, without loss of generality; variations in transmission power of the UEs are reflected by adjusting noise power). A signal received by the base station in the first timeslot is a simple addition of an uplink channel from the UE to the base station and a noise, i.e., y_BS[1]=Σ_k=1^Kh_k+z_BS[1], where z_BS[1]˜(0,σ_BS²I_M) denotes an independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise at the base station, σ_BS² is a noise power at the base station, I_M is an M-dimensional-dimensional identity matrix, and (0,σ_BS²I_M) denotes an M-dimensional cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σ_BS²I_M.

At S2, in the second timeslot, the base station multiplies the signal y_BS[1] received in the first timeslot with a power adjustment factor a=1/√{square root over (MK)} and feeds ay_BS[1] back to all the UEs by means of broadcast. A signal received by a UE j in the second timeslot is y_j[2]=h_j^\ay_BS[1]+z_j[2]≙g_j[2], where z_j[2]˜(0,σ_UE²) is a Gaussian noise at the UE and g_j=a(h_j^†Σ_k=1^Kh_k+h_j^†z_BS[1]) can be considered as an equivalent Single Input Single Output (SISO) channel from the base station to the UE j. The UE j estimates the equivalent channel g_j based on the received signal y_j[2] to obtain an estimated value ĝ_j (e.g., ĝ_j=y_j[2] when a least square method is used).

At S3, in the t-th timeslot, where t=3, . . . , T, the base station precodes a signal x_BS[t] to be broadcasted to the UEs based on ay_BS[1], and broadcasts ax_BS[t]y_BS[1] to all the UEs. A signal received by the UE j in the t-th timeslot can be represented as y_j[t]=g_jx_BS[t]+z_j[t]. The UE j demodulates the signal x_BS[t] broadcasted by the base station based on ĝ_j estimated in the second timeslot.

The principle for the present disclosure to transmit a signal to multiple UEs utilizing reciprocity of the wireless channel is as follows.

In order to obtain CSI of a UE, a conventional downlink channel training based on orthogonal pilots occupies at least M timeslots. Since a base station in a massive MIMO system is typically configured with hundreds of antennas, M is typically on the order of 10², and the typical channel coherent time is also on the order of 10², such channel training has an unacceptable overhead.

In order to reduce the overhead of the downlink channel training, it is possible to use the same repetitive coding policy in the downlink channel training phase and data transmission phase. For a repetition factor r=M as an example; all the antennas at the base station can transmit the same pilot (in the downlink channel training phase) or data signal (in the downlink data transmission phase). In particular, in the first transmission timeslot, all the antennas at the base station transmit the same pilot (assuming it to be a constant 1/√{square root over (M)}, without loss of generality), and the signal received by a UE j is y_j[1]=1/√{square root over (M)}(Σ_m=1^Mh*_jm)+z_j[1], where h*_jm is the conjugate of h_jm. By doing so, the vector channel from the base station to the UE j is folded into an equivalent SISO channel. While such repetitive coding policy can significantly reduce the overhead of the downlink channel training, it is problematic in that the equivalent SISO channel and a SISO channel when the base station is configured with one single antenna have identical distributions (assuming h_jm, mϵ{1, 2, . . . , M} to be independent and identically distributed, without loss of generality). Hence, the repetitive coding policy with the repetition factor r=M can provide no diversity gain. When the repetition factor r is decreased, the repetitive coding policy can provide some diversity gain, which comes at expense of an increased overhead of the downlink channel training. For a low-speed transmission of broadcast signaling, it is desired to keep the channel training overhead as low as possible. Therefore, the downlink channel training based on the repetitive coding policy and the signaling broadcast have their limitations.

On the other hand, the method for transmitting a signal to multiple UEs utilizing reciprocity of the wireless channel according to the present disclosure can significantly improve the statistic distribution of the equivalent SISO channel between the base station and the UE, thereby improving the reliability in signaling broadcast. Meanwhile, as the downlink channel training only occupies two transmission timeslots, the overhead of the channel training is very low and particularly suitable for the low-speed transmission of downlink broadcast signaling. Its main principle will be explained in the following. For simplicity of analysis, it is assumed here, without loss of generality, that the elements in h_k are independent from each other and subject to a cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution (0,1) (i.e., Rayleigh fading), g_j can be rewritten as:

$g_j=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mathrm{MK}}}{h_j}^2+\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mathrm{MK}}}h_j^{†}\left(\sum _{k\ne j}^Kh_k+z_{\mathrm{BS}}\left[1\right]\right).$

It is easy to know that the first item is subject to a central Chi-square distribution having a 2M degrees of freedom and, according to the central limit theorem, the second item is asymptotically subject to a zero-mean cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution. Further, as described above, M is typically on the order of 10², thus the first item equals approximately to its mean value of √{square root over (M/K)} and the second item has approximately a cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution (0,1). As above, with the two steps of channel training and estimation according to the present disclosure, the vector channel from the base station to the UE can be approximately equivalent to a Rician fading channel subject to a distribution of (√{square root over (M/K)},1). When compared with the channel training and the signal broadcast based on repetitive coding having the repetition factor r=M, the equivalent SISO channel derived according to the present disclosure has a Light-of-Sight (LOS) component which is strong when the ratio M/K is large (it is to be noted here that M is typically larger than K by one order of magnitude in the massive MIMO system). In this way, the reliability of signal broadcast can be greatly improved and the interruption probability can be reduced.

In the following, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained with reference to the figures.

This embodiment is applied in a narrow-band massive MIMO system and one single cell is assumed. Accordingly, the channel h_k between the UE and the base station is subject to a flat fading. Without loss of generality, it is assumed that h_k is subject to a Rayleigh fading (0,1). Further, it is assumed that an ideal synchronization is maintained between the UE and the base station.

FIG. 1 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of an equivalent SISO channel g_j between a base station and a UE when M=100, K=5, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (20)},1).

It can be seen from FIG. 1 that, when the number of antennas at the base station is much larger than the number of UEs served, the equivalent SISO channel from the base station to the UE has a very strong LOS component. Thus, in this case the transmission of downlink broadcast signaling can be highly reliable and can have a high transmission rate.

FIG. 2 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of g_j when M=100, K=50, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (2)},1). FIG. 3 shows an empirical cumulative density function of a real part and an imaginary part of g_j when M=100, K=500, and a comparison with an asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (0.2)},1). It can be seen from FIGS. 1-3 that, even if the base station is configured with only 100 antennas, the empirical distribution of g_j highly matches its asymptotic distribution (√{square root over (M/K)},1). Further, as the ratio of the number of antennas at the base station to the number of UEs served decreases, the LOS component in the equivalent SISO channel from the base station to the UE attenuates continuously, but still superior to the channel training and the signal broadcast based on repetitive coding having the repetition factor r=M.

With better utilization of the reciprocity between the uplink and downlink channels in the TDD mode, the method according to the present disclosure not only occupies less timeslot resources (only two timeslots) during the channel training phase, but also significantly improves the statistic distribution of the equivalent SISO channel between the base station and the UE when M/K is large, thereby improving the reliability in transmission of the broadcast signal. Theoretically, the number of UEs the base station can serve at the same time is not limited by the number of antennas at the base station. The increase in the number of UEs only attenuates the LOS component in the equivalent SISO channel between the base station and the UE to some extent. Further, the method according to the present disclosure has low complexity in the processing at the base station. Hence, the method of the present disclosure is particularly applicable in low-speed transmission of downlink broadcast signaling and scenarios where the base station is to page inactive UEs.

While the objects, solutions and advantageous effects of the present disclosure have been descried in detail with reference to the above embodiments, it should be noted that the foregoing is illustrative only, rather than limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Any modifications, alternatives or improvements that can be made without departing from the spirit and principle of the present disclosure are to be encompassed by the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for signal transmission, applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system operating in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode and comprising a base station and a number, K, of User Equipments (UEs), the base station being configured with M antennas, each UE being configured with one receiving antenna or configured to combine signals from a plurality of receiving antennas to obtain one scalar channel output, each UE maintaining ideal synchronization with the base station, one downlink transmission period being discretized into T timeslots, reciprocal uplink and downlink channels remaining to unchanged during the T timeslots, an uplink channel from a UE k to the base station being denoted as hk, a downlink channel from the base station to the UE k being denoted as hk†, where † denotes conjugate transpose, the method comprising: S1: in the first timeslot, transmitting, by the UE k, a constant signal to the base station, such that a signal received by the base station is a simple addition of an uplink channel from the UE to the base station and a noise, i.e., yBS[1]=Σk=1Khk+zBS[1], where yBS[1] denotes a signal received by the base station in the first timeslot and zBS[1] denotes a noise at the base station;S2: in the second timeslot, multiplying, by the base station, the signal yBS[1] received in the first timeslot with a power adjustment factor a and feeding ayBS[1] back to all the UEs by means of broadcast, such that a signal received by a UE j in the second timeslot is yj[2]=hj†ayBS[1]+zj[2]≙gj+zj[2] where zj[2] is a noise at the UE j and gj=a(hj†Σk=1Khk+hj†zBS[1]), and the UE j estimates gj based on the signal yj[2] received in the second timeslot to obtain an estimated value ĝj; andS3: in the t-th timeslot, where t=3, . . . , T, precoding, by the base station, a signal xBS[t] to be broadcasted to the UEs in the t-th timeslot based on ayBS[1], and broadcasting axBS[t]yBS[1] to all the UEs, such that a signal received by the UE j in the t-th timeslot is yj[t]=gjxBS[t]+zj[t], where zj[t] is a noise at the UE j, and the UE j demodulates xBS[t] based on ĝj.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step S1, the constant signal is normalized to a transmission power of the UE.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step S1, the noise zBS[1] at the base station is an independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise, i.e., zBS[1]˜(0,σBS2IM), where σBS2 is a noise power at the base station, IM is an M-dimensional identity matrix, and (0,σBS2IM) denotes an M-dimensional cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σBS2IM.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step S2, the power adjustment factor a satisfies a=1/√{square root over (MK)}.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step S2, the noise zj[2] at the UE j is a Gaussian noise, i.e., zj[2]˜(0,σUE2), where σUE2 is a noise power at the UE, and (0,σUE2) denotes a cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σUE2.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in the step S2, ĝj is estimated using a least square method, i.e., ĝj=yj[2].

7. A method for signal transmission, applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system comprising a base station and a plurality of User Equipments (UEs), the UEs being divided into a number of groups, the UEs in different groups occupying different sub-carriers and the UEs in each group transmitting signals according to the method of claim 1.

8. A method for signal transmission, applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system operating in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode and comprising a base station and a number, K, of User Equipments (UEs), the base station being configured with M antennas, each UE being configured with one receiving antenna or configured to combine signals from a plurality of receiving antennas to obtain one scalar channel output, each UE maintaining ideal synchronization with the base station, one downlink transmission period being discretized into T timeslots, reciprocal uplink and downlink channels remaining unchanged during the T timeslots, an uplink channel from a UE k to the base station being denoted as hk, a downlink channel from the base station to the UE k being denoted as hk†, the method comprising: S1: in the first timeslot, transmitting, by the UE k, a constant signal to the base station, such that a signal received by the base station is a simple addition of an uplink channel from the UE to the base station and a noise, i.e., yBS[1]=Σk=1Khk+zBS[1], where yBS[1] denotes a signal received by the base station in the first timeslot and zBS[1] denotes a noise at the base station; andS2: in the t-th timeslot, where t=2, . . . , T, applying, by the base station, a differential modulation to data to be broadcasted to the UEs in the t-th timeslot, so as to obtain a modulated signal xBS[t] first, then multiplying the signal yBS[1] received in the first timeslot with a power adjustment factor a, precoding xBS[t] based on ayBS[1], and broadcasting axBS[t]yBS[1] to all the UEs, such that a signal received by a UE j in the t-th timeslot is yj[t]=hj†ayBS[1]xBS[t]≙gjxBS[t]+zj[t], where zj[t] is a noise at the UE j, gj=a(hj†Σk=1Khk+hj†zBS[1]), and the UE j applies incoherent differential demodulation to the signal broadcasted from the base station without performing any explicit channel estimation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein in the step S1, the constant signal is normalized to a transmission power of the UE.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein in the step S1, the noise zBS[1] at the base station is an independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise, i.e., zBS[1]˜(0,σBS2IM), where σBS2 is a noise power at the base station, IM is an M-dimensional identity matrix, and (0,σBS2IM) denotes an M-dimensional cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σBS2IM.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein in the step S2, the power adjustment factor a satisfies a=1/√{square root over (MK)}.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein in the step S2, the noise zj[2] at the UE j is a Gaussian noise, i.e., zj[2]˜(0,σUE2), where σUE2 is a noise power at the UE, and (0,σUE2) denotes a cyclically symmetric complex Gaussian distribution having a mean value of 0 and a covariance matrix of σUE2.

13. A method for signal transmission, applied in a multi-user, multi-antenna system comprising a base station and a plurality of User Equipments (UEs), the UEs being divided into a number of groups, the UEs in different groups occupying different sub-carriers and the UEs in each group transmitting signals according to the method of claim 8.