Receiver structures for spatial spreading with space-time or space-frequency transmit diversity

Abstract

A receiving entity obtains received symbols for a data transmission having at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD). The receiving entity derives an overall channel response matrix in accordance with the STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission, derives a spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix, and performs spatial matched filtering on a vector of received symbols for each 2-symbol interval to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval. The receiving entity may perform post-processing (e.g., conjugation) on the detected symbols if needed. Alternatively, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix based on an effective channel response matrix, performs spatial matched filtering on the received symbols for each symbol period to obtain detected symbols for that symbol period, and combines multiple estimates obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

Description

BACKGROUND

I. Field

The present invention relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for processing data in a multiple-antenna communication system.

II. Background

A multi-antenna communication system employs multiple (N_T) transmit antennas and one or more (N_R) receive antennas for data transmission. The N_T transmit antennas may be used to increase system throughput by transmitting different data from the antennas or to improve reliability by transmitting data redundantly.

In the multi-antenna communication system, a propagation path exists between each pair of transmit and receive antennas. N_T·N_R different propagation paths are formed between the N_T transmit antennas and the N_R receive antennas. These propagation paths may experience different channel conditions (e.g., different fading, multipath, and interference effects) and may achieve different signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios (SNRs). The channel responses of the N_T·N_R propagation paths may thus vary from path to path. For a dispersive communication channel, the channel response for each propagation path also varies across frequency. If the channel conditions vary over time, then the channel responses for the propagation paths likewise vary over time.

Transmit diversity refers to the redundant transmission of data across space, frequency, time, or a combination of these three dimensions to improve reliability for the data transmission. One goal of transmit diversity is to maximize diversity for the data transmission across as many dimensions as possible to achieve robust performance. Another goal is to simplify the processing for transmit diversity at both a transmitter and a receiver.

There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to process data for transmit diversity in a multi-antenna communication system.

SUMMARY

Techniques for transmitting and receiving data using a combination of transmit diversity schemes to improve performance are described herein. In an embodiment, a transmitting entity processes one or more (N_D) data symbol streams and generates multiple (N_C) coded symbol streams. Each data symbol stream may be sent as a single coded symbol stream or as two coded symbol streams using, e.g., space-time transmit diversity (STTD), space-frequency transmit diversity (SFTD), or orthogonal transmit diversity (OTD). The transmitting entity may perform spatial spreading on the N_C coded symbol streams and generate N_T transmit symbol streams. Additionally or alternatively, the transmitting entity may perform continuous beamforming on the N_T transmit symbol streams in either the time domain or the frequency domain. These various transmit diversity schemes are described below.

A receiving entity obtains received symbols for the data transmission sent by the transmitting entity. The receiving entity derives an effective channel response matrix, e.g., based on received pilot symbols. This matrix includes the effects of the spatial spreading and/or continuous beamforming, if performed by the transmitting entity. In an embodiment, the receiving entity forms an overall channel response matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with the STTD encoding scheme used by the transmitting entity. The receiving entity then derives a spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with, e.g., a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique. The receiving entity then performs spatial processing on a vector of received symbols for each 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval. The detected symbols are estimates of the transmitted coded symbols. The receiving entity performs post-processing (e.g., conjugation) on the detected symbols, if needed, to obtain recovered data symbols, which are estimates of the transmitted data symbols.

In another embodiment, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix. The receiving entity then performs spatial processing on the received symbols for each symbol period with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for that symbol period. The receiving entity also performs post-processing on the detected symbols, if needed, to obtain estimates of data symbols. The receiving entity combines multiple estimates obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD and generates a single estimate for the data symbol.

Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a multi-antenna transmitting entity.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a single-antenna receiving entity and a multi-antenna receiving entity.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a receive (RX) spatial processor and an RX STTD processor for the MMSE and CCMI techniques.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an RX spatial processor and an RX STTD processor for the partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques.

FIG. 5 shows a process for receiving data with the MMSE or CCMI technique.

FIG. 6 shows a process for receiving data with the partial-MMSE or partial-CCMI technique.

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

The data transmission and reception techniques described herein may be used for multiple-input single-output (MISO) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmissions. A MISO transmission utilizes multiple transmit antennas and a single receive antenna. A MIMO transmission utilizes multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas. These techniques may also be used for single-carrier and multi-carrier communication systems. Multiple carriers may be obtained with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), some other multi-carrier modulation techniques, or some other construct. OFDM effectively partitions the overall system bandwidth into multiple (N_F) orthogonal frequency subbands, which are also called tones, subcarriers, bins, and frequency channels. With OFDM, each subband is associated with a respective subcarrier that may be modulated with data.

Transmit diversity may be achieved using various schemes including STTD, SFTD, OTD, spatial spreading, continuous beamforming, and so on. STTD transmits each pair of data symbols from two antennas on one subband in two symbol periods to achieve space and time diversity. SFTD transmits each pair of data symbols from two antennas on two subbands in one symbol period to achieve space and frequency diversity. OTD transmits each pair of data symbols from two antennas on one subband in two symbol periods using two orthogonal codes to achieve space and time diversity. As used herein, a data symbol is a modulation symbol for traffic/packet data, a pilot symbol is a modulation symbol for pilot (which is data that is known a priori by both the transmitting and receiving entities), a modulation symbol is a complex value for a point in a signal constellation for a modulation scheme (e.g., M-PSK or M-QAM), and a symbol is any complex value.

Spatial spreading refers to the transmission of a symbol from multiple transmit antennas simultaneously, possibly with different amplitudes and/or phases determined by a steering vector used for that symbol. Spatial spreading is also called steering diversity, transmit steering, pseudo-random transmit steering, and so on. Spatial spreading may be used in combination with STTD, SFTD, OTD, and/or continuous beamforming to improve performance.

Continuous beamforming refers to the use of different beams across the N_F subbands. The beamforming is continuous in that the beams change in a gradual instead of abrupt manner across the subbands. Continuous beamforming may be performed in the frequency domain by multiplying the symbols for each subband with a beamforming matrix for that subband. Continuous beamforming may also be performed in the time domain by applying different cyclic or circular delays for different transmit antennas.

Transmit diversity may also be achieved using a combination of schemes. For example, transmit diversity may be achieved using a combination of either STTD or SFTD and either spatial spreading or continuous beamforming. As another example, transmit diversity may be achieved using a combination of STTD or SFTD, spatial spreading, and continuous beamforming.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a multi-antenna transmitting entity 110. For this embodiment, transmitting entity 110 uses a combination of STTD, spatial spreading, and continuous beamforming for data transmission. A transmit (TX) data processor 112 receives and processes N_D data streams and provides N_D data symbol streams, where N_D≧1. TX data processor 112 may process each data stream independently or may jointly process multiple data streams together. For example, TX data processor 112 may format, scramble, encode, interleave, and symbol map each data stream in accordance with a coding and modulation scheme selected for that data stream. A TX STTD processor 120 receives the N_D data symbol streams, performs STTD processing or encoding on at least one data symbol stream, and provides N_C streams of coded symbols, where N_C≧N_D. In general, TX STTD processor 120 may process one or more data symbol streams with STTD, SFTD, OTD, or some other transmit diversity scheme. Each data symbol stream may be sent as one coded symbol stream or multiple coded symbol streams, as described below.

A spatial spreader 130 receives and multiplexes the coded symbols with pilot symbols, performs spatial spreading by multiplying the coded and pilot symbols with steering matrices, and provides N_T transmit symbol streams for the N_T transmit antennas, where N_T≧N_C. Each transmit symbol is a complex value to be sent on one subband in one symbol period from one transmit antenna. N_T modulators (Mod) 132a through 132t receive the N_T transmit symbol streams. For an OFDM system, each modulator 132 performs OFDM modulation on its transmit symbol stream and provides a stream of time-domain samples. Each modulator 132 may also apply a cyclic delay for each OFDM symbol. N_T modulators 132a through 132t provide N_T streams of time-domain samples to N_T transmitter units (TMTR) 134a through 134t, respectively. Each transmitter unit 134 conditions (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency upconverts) its sample stream and generates a modulated signal. N_T modulated signals from N_T transmitter units 134a through 134t are transmitted from N_T transmit antennas 136a through 136t, respectively.

Controller 140 controls the operation at transmitting entity 110. Memory unit 142 stores data and/or program codes used by controller 140.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a single-antenna receiving entity 150x and a multi-antenna receiving entity 150y. At single-antenna receiving entity 150x, an antenna 152x receives the N_T transmitted signals and provides a received signal to a receiver unit (RCVR) 154x. Receiver unit 154x performs processing complementary to that performed by transmitter units 134 and provides a stream of received samples to a demodulator (Demod) 156x. For an OFDM system, demodulator 156x performs OFDM demodulation on the received samples to obtain received symbols, provides received data symbols to a detector 158, and provides received pilot symbols to a channel estimator 162. Channel estimator 162 derives an effective channel response estimate for a single-input single-output (SISO) channel between transmitting entity 110 and receiving entity 150x for each subband used for data transmission. Detector 158 performs data detection on the received data symbols for each subband based on the effective SISO channel response estimate for that subband and provides recovered data symbols for the subband. An RX data processor 160 processes (e.g., symbol demaps, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered data symbols and provides decoded data.

At multi-antenna receiving entity 150y, N_R antennas 152a through 152r receive the N_T transmitted signals, and each antenna 152 provides a received signal to a respective receiver unit 154. Each receiver unit 154 processes its received signal and provides a received sample stream to an associated demodulator 156. Each demodulator 156 performs OFDM demodulation on its received sample stream, provides received data symbols to an RX spatial processor 170, and provides received pilot symbols to a channel estimator 166. Channel estimator 166 derives a channel response estimate for the actual or effective MIMO channel between transmitting entity 110 and receiving entity 150y for each subband used for data transmission. A matched filter generator 168 derives a spatial filter matrix for each subband based on the channel response estimate for that subband. RX spatial processor 170 performs receiver spatial processing (or spatial matched filtering) on the received data symbols for each subband with the spatial filter matrix for that subband and provides detected symbols for the subband. An RX STTD processor 172 performs post-processing on the detected symbols and provides recovered data symbols. An RX data processor 174 processes (e.g., symbol demaps, deinterleaves, and decodes) the recovered data symbols and provides decoded data.

Controllers 180x and 180y control the operation at receiving entities 150x and 150y, respectively. Memory units 182x and 182y store data and/or program codes used by controllers 180x and 180y, respectively.

1. Transmitter Processing

Transmitting entity 110 may transmit any number of data symbol streams with STTD and any number of data symbol streams without STTD, depending on the number of transmit and receive antennas available for data transmission. The STTD encoding for one data symbol stream may be performed as follows. For each pair of data symbols s_a and s_b to be sent in two symbol periods of the data symbol stream, TX STTD processor 120 generates two vectors s₁=[s_a s_b]^T and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a]^T, where “*” denotes the complex conjugate and “^T” denotes the transpose. Alternatively, TX STTD processor 120 may generate two vectors s₁=[s_a −s_b]^T and s₂=[s_b s*_a]^T for each pair of data symbols s_a and s_b. For both STTD encoding schemes, each vector s_t, for t=1, 2, includes two coded symbols to be sent from N_T transmit antennas in one symbol period, where N_T≧2. Vector s₁ is sent in the first symbol period, and vector s₂ is sent in the next symbol period. Each data symbol is included in both vectors and is thus sent over two symbol periods. The m-th coded symbol stream is sent in the m-th element of the two vectors s₁ and s₂. For clarity, the following description is for the STTD encoding scheme with s₁=[s_a s_b] ^T and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a]^T. For this STTD encoding scheme, the first coded symbol stream includes coded symbols s_a and s*_b, and the second coded symbol stream includes coded symbols s_b and −s*_a.

Table 1 lists four configurations that may be used for data transmission. An N_D×N_C configuration denotes the transmission of N_D data symbol streams as N_C coded symbol streams, where N_D≧1 and N_C≧N_D. The first column identifies the four configurations. For each configuration, the second column indicates the number of data symbol streams being sent, and the third column indicates the number of coded symbol streams. The fourth column lists the N_D data symbol streams for each configuration, the fifth column lists the coded symbol stream(s) for each data symbol stream, the sixth column gives the coded symbol to be sent in the first symbol period (t=1) for each coded symbol stream, and the seventh column gives the coded symbol to be sent in the second symbol period (t=2) for each coded symbol stream. The number of data symbols sent in each 2-symbol interval is equal to twice the number of data symbol streams. The eighth column indicates the number of transmit antennas required for each configuration, and the ninth column indicates the number of receive antennas required for each configuration. As shown in Table 1, for each data symbol stream that is sent as one coded symbol stream without STTD, the data symbol sent in the second symbol period (t=2) is conjugated to match the conjugation performed on the data symbols in the STTD encoded data symbol stream.

TABLE 1
	Num Data	Num Coded	Data	Coded	Coded Symbol	Coded Symbol	Req Num	Req Num
	Symbol Streams	Symbol Streams	Symbol	Symbol	(t = 1)	(t = 2)	TX Ants	RX Ants
Config	ND	NC	Stream	Stream	s1	s2	NT	NR
1 × 2	1	2	1	1	sa	sb*	NT ≧ 2	NR ≧ 1
				2	sb	−sa*
2 × 3	2	3	1	1	sa	sb*	NT ≧ 3	NR ≧ 2
				2	sb	−sa*
			2	3	sc	sd*
2 × 4	2	4	1	1	sa	sb*	NT ≧ 4	NR ≧ 2
				2	sb	−sa*
			2	3	sc	sd*
				4	sd	−sc*
3 × 4	3	4	1	1	sa	sb*	NT ≧ 4	NR ≧ 3
				2	sb	−sa*
			2	3	sc	sd*
			3	4	se	sf*

As an example, for the 2×3 configuration, two data symbol streams are sent as three coded symbol streams. The first data symbol stream is STTD encoded to generate two coded symbol streams. The second data symbol stream is sent without STTD as the third coded symbol stream. Coded symbols s_a, s_b and s_c are sent from at least three transmit antennas in the first symbol period, and coded symbols s*_b, −s*_a and s*_d are sent in the second symbol period. A receiving entity uses at least two receive antennas to recover the two data symbol streams.

Table 1 shows four configurations that may be used for data transmission whereby each configuration has at least one STTD encoded data symbol stream. Other configurations may also be used for data transmission. In general, any number of data symbol streams may be sent as any number of coded symbol streams from any number of transmit antennas, where N_D≧1, N_C≧N_D, N_T≧N_C, and N_R≧N_D.

The transmitting entity may process the coded symbols for spatial spreading and continuous beamforming as follows: x_t(k)=B(k)·V(k)·G(k)·s_t(k), for t=1, 2,  Eq (1) where

• • s_t(k) is an N_C×1 vector with N_C coded symbols to be sent on subband k in symbol period t;
  • G(k) is an N_C×N_C diagonal matrix with N_C gain values along the diagonal for the N_C coded symbols in s_t(k) and zeros elsewhere;
  • V(k) is an N_T×N_C steering matrix for spatial spreading for subband k;
  • B(k) is an N_T×N_T diagonal matrix for continuous beamforming for subband k; and
  • x_t(k) is an N_T×1 vector with N_T transmit symbols to be sent from the N_T transmit antennas on subband k in symbol period t.

Vector s₁ contains N_C coded symbols to be sent in the first symbol period, and vector s₂ contains N_C coded symbols to be sent in the second symbol period. Vectors s₁ and s₂ may be formed as shown in Table 1 for the four configurations. For example, s₁=[s_a s_b s_c]^T and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a s*_d]^T for the 2×3 configuration.

The gain matrix G(k) determines the amount of transmit power to use for each of the N_C coded symbol streams. The total transmit power available for transmission may be denoted as P_total. If equal transmit power is used for the N_C coded symbol streams, then the diagonal elements of G(k) have the same value, which is √{square root over (P_total/N_C)}. If equal transmit power is used for the N_D data symbol streams, then the diagonal elements of G(k) may or may not be equal depending on the configuration. The N_C gain values in G(k) may be defined to achieve equal transmit power for the N_D data symbol streams being sent simultaneously. As an example, for the 2×3 configuration, the first data symbol stream is sent as two coded symbol streams and the second data symbol stream is sent as one coded symbol stream. To achieve equal transmit power for the two data symbol streams, a 3×3 gain matrix G(k) may include gain values of √{square root over (P_total/4)}, √{square root over (P_total/4)}, and √{square root over (P_total/2)} along the diagonal for the three coded symbol streams. Each coded symbol in the third coded symbol stream is then scaled by √{square root over (P_total/2)} and is transmitted with twice the power as the other two coded symbols sent in the same symbol period. The N_C coded symbols for each symbol period may also be scaled to utilize the maximum transmit power available for each transmit antenna. In general, the elements of G(k) may be selected to utilize any amount of transmit power for the N_C coded symbol streams and to achieve any desired SNRs for the N_D data symbol streams. The power scaling for each coded symbol stream may also be performed by scaling the columns of the steering matrix V(k) with appropriate gains.

A given data symbol stream (denoted as {s}) may be sent as one coded symbol stream (denoted as {{tilde over (s)}}) in other manners. In one embodiment, the gain matrix G(k) contains ones along the diagonal, and coded symbol stream {{tilde over (s)}} is transmitted at the same power level as the other coded symbol streams. For this embodiment, data symbol stream {s} is transmitted at lower transmit power than an STTD encoded data symbol stream and achieves a lower received SNR at the receiving entity. The coding and modulation for data symbol stream {s} may be selected to achieve the desired performance, e.g., the desired packet error rate. In another embodiment, each data symbol in data symbol stream {s} is repeated and transmitted in two symbol periods. As an example, for the 2×3 configuration, data symbol s_c is sent in two symbol periods, then data symbol s_d is sent in two symbol periods, and so on. Similar received SNRs for all N_D data symbol streams may simplify processing (e.g., encoding) at both the transmitting and receiving entities.

The steering matrix V(k) spatially spreads the N_C coded symbols for each symbol period such that each coded symbol is transmitted from all N_T transmit antennas and achieves spatial diversity. Spatial spreading may be performed with various types of steering matrices, such as Walsh matrices, Fourier matrices, pseudo-random matrices, and so on, which may be generated as described below. The same steering matrix V(k) is used for the two vectors s₁(k) and s₂(k) for each subband k. The same or different steering matrices may be used for different subbands. Different steering matrices may be used for different time intervals, where each time interval spans an integer multiple of two symbol periods for STTD.

The matrix B(k) performs continuous beamforming in the frequency domain. For an OFDM system, a different beamforming matrix may be used for each subband. The beamforming matrix for each subband k may be a diagonal matrix having the following form: $\begin{array}{cc}\underset{\_}{B}\left(k\right)=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{b}_1\left(k\right)& 0& \cdots & 0\\ 0& b_2\left(k\right)& \cdots & 0\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋰& ⋮\\ 0& 0& \cdots & b_{N_T}\left(k\right)\end{array}\right],\mathrm{for}k=1\dots N_F,& \mathrm{Eq}\left(2\right)\end{array}$ where b_i(k) is a weight for subband k of transmit antenna i. The weight b_i(k) may be defined as: b_i(k)=e^{−j2π·ΔT(i)·l(k)·Δf}, for i=1 . . . N_T and k=1 . . . N_F,  Eq (3) where

• • ΔT(i) is the time delay on transmit antenna i; and
  • l(k)·Δf is the actually frequency that corresponds to subband index k. For example, if N_F=64, then subband index k goes from 1 to 64, and l(k) may map k to −32 to +31, respectively. Δf denotes the frequency spacing between adjacent subbands. For example, if the overall system bandwidth is 20 MHz and N_F=64, then Δf=20 MHz/64=3.125 kHz. l(k)·Δf provides the actual frequency (in Hertz) for each value of k. The weights b_i(k) shown in equation (3) correspond to a progressive phase shift across the N_F total subbands of each transmit antenna, with the phase shift changing at different rates for the N_T transmit antennas. These weights effectively form a different beam for each subband.

Continuous beamforming may also be performed in the time domain as follows. For each symbol period, an N_F-point inverse discrete Fourier transform (IDFT) is performed on N_F transmit symbols for each transmit antenna i to generate N_F time-domain samples for that transmit antenna. The N_F time-domain samples for each transmit antenna i are then cyclically or circularly delayed with a delay of T_i. For example, T_i may be defined as: T_i=ΔT·(i−1), for i=1 . . . N_T, where ΔT may be equal to one sample period, a fraction of a sample period, or more than one sample period. The time-domain samples for each antenna are thus cyclically delayed by a different amount.

For simplicity, the following description is for one subband, and the subband index k is dropped from the notations. The receiver spatial processing for each subband may be performed in the same manner, albeit with a spatial filter matrix obtained for that subband. The gain matrix G(k) does not affect the receiver spatial processing and is omitted from the following description for clarity. The gain matrix G(k) may also be viewed as being incorporated in the vectors s₁ and s₂.

2. Single-Antenna Receiver Processing

A single-antenna receiving entity may receive a data transmission sent using the 1×2 configuration. The received symbols from the single receive antenna may be expressed as: r_t=h·x_t+n_t=h·B·V·s_t+n_t=h_eff·s_t+n_t, for t=1, 2,  Eq (4) where

• • r_t is a received symbol for symbol period t;
  • h is a 1×N_T channel response row vector, which is h=[h₁, h₂, . . . , h_NT];
  • h_eff is a 1×2 effective channel response row vector for the 1×2 configuration, which is h_eff=h·B·V=[h_eff,1 h_eff,2]; and
  • n_t is the noise for symbol period t. The MISO channel response h is assumed to be constant over the two symbol periods for vectors s₁ and s₂.

The single-antenna receiving entity may derive estimates of the two data symbols s_a and s_b, as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}{\hat{s}}_a=\frac{{\hat{h}}_{\mathrm{eff},1}^{*}·r_1-{\hat{h}}_{\mathrm{eff},2}·r_2^{*}}{{\beta }^{\prime }}=s_a+n_a^{\prime },\mathrm{and}{\hat{s}}_b=\frac{{\hat{h}}_{\mathrm{eff},2}^{*}·r_1+{\hat{h}}_{\mathrm{eff},1}·r_2^{*}}{{\beta }^{\prime }}=s_b+n_b^{\prime },& \mathrm{Eq}\left(5\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ĥ_eff,m is an estimate of h_eff,m, for m=1, 2;
  • β′=|ĥ_eff,1|²+|ĥ_eff,2|²; and
  • n′_a and n′_b are post-processed noise for detected symbols ŝ_a and ŝ_b, respectively. The receiving entity may also derive the detected symbols using MMSE processing described below.

3. Multi-Antenna Receiver Processing

A multi-antenna receiving entity may receive a data transmission sent using any of the configurations supported by the number of receive antennas available at that receiving entity, as shown in Table 1. The received symbols from the multiple receive antennas may be expressed as: r_t=H·x_t+n_t=H·B·V·s_t+n_t=H_eff·s_t+n_t, for t=1, 2,  Eq (6) where

• • r_t is an N_R×1 vector with N_R received symbols for symbol period t;
  • H is an N_R×N_T channel response matrix;
  • H_eff is an N_R×N_C effective channel response matrix; and
  • n_t is a noise vector for symbol period t. The receiving entity can typically obtain an estimate of H based on a pilot received from the transmitting entity. The receiving entity uses H_eff to recover s_t.

The effective channel response matrix H_eff may be expressed as: H_eff=H·B·V,  Eq (7) and has the following form: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{eff}}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& \cdots & h_{\mathrm{eff},1,N_C}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& \cdots & h_{\mathrm{eff},2,N_C}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋰& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}& \cdots & h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,N_C}\end{array}\right],& \mathrm{Eq}\left(8\right)\end{array}$ where h_eff,j,m is the channel gain for coded symbol stream m at receive antenna j. The effective channel response matrix H_eff is dependent on the configuration used for data transmission and the number of receive antennas. The MIMO channel response matrix H and the effective channel response matrix H_eff are assumed to be constant over two symbol periods for vectors s₁ and s₂.

For the 1×2 configuration, the effective channel response matrix is an N_R×2 matrix that may be given as: H_eff=H·B·V=[h_eff,1 h_eff,2], where h_eff,m is an effective channel response vector for coded symbol stream m. The multi-antenna receiving entity may derive estimates of the two data symbols s_a and s_b, as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}{\hat{s}}_a=\frac{{\widehat{\underset{\_}{h}}}_{\mathrm{eff},1}^H·{\underset{\_}{r}}_1-{\underset{\_}{r}}_2^H·{\widehat{\underset{\_}{h}}}_{\mathrm{eff},2}}{{\beta }^{″}}=s_a=n_a^{″},\mathrm{and}{\hat{s}}_b=\frac{{\widehat{\underset{\_}{h}}}_{\mathrm{eff},2}^H·{\underset{\_}{r}}_1+{\underset{\_}{r}}_2^H·{\widehat{\underset{\_}{h}}}_{\mathrm{eff},1}}{{\beta }^{″}}=s_b=n_b^{″},& \mathrm{Eq}\left(9\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ĥ_eff,m is an estimate of h_eff,m, for m=1, 2;
  • β″=∥ĥ_eff,1∥²+∥ĥ_eff,2∥²;
  • “^H” denotes the conjugate transpose; and
  • n″_a and n″_b are post-processed noise for detected symbols ŝ_a and ŝ_b, respectively. The data symbols s_a and s_b may also be recovered using other receiver spatial processing techniques, as described below.

To facilitate the receiver spatial processing, a single data vector s may be formed for the 2N_D data symbols included in vectors s₁ and s₂ sent in two symbol periods. A single received vector r may also be formed for the 2N_R received symbols included in vectors r₁ and r₂ obtained in two symbol periods. The received vector r may then be expressed as: r=H_all·s+n_all,  Eq (10) where

• • r is a 2N_R×1 vector with 2N_R received symbols obtained in two symbol periods;
  • s is a 2N_D×1 vector with 2N_D data symbols sent in two symbol periods;
  • H_all is a 2N_R×2N_D overall channel response matrix observed by the data symbols in s; and
  • n_all is a noise vector for the 2N_D data symbols. The overall channel response matrix H_all contains twice the number of rows as the effective channel response matrix H_eff and includes the effects of STTD, spatial spreading, and continuous beamforming performed by the transmitting entity. The elements of H_all are derived based on the elements of H_eff, as described below.

For the 2×3 configuration, the transmitting entity generates vectors s₁=[s_a s_b s_c]^T and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a s*_d]^T for four data symbols s_a, s_b, s_c and s_d to be sent in two symbol periods for two data symbol streams, as shown in Table 1. Each vector s_t contains three coded symbols to be sent from the N_T transmit antennas in one symbol period, where N_T≧3 for the 2×3 configuration.

If the receiving entity is equipped with two receive antennas (N_R=2), then r_t is a 2×1 vector with two received symbols for symbol period t, H is a 2×N_T channel response matrix, and H_eff is a 2×3 effective channel response matrix. The effective channel response matrix for the 2×3 configuration with two receive antennas, which is denoted as H_eff^2/2×3, may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{2/2\times 3}=\left[\begin{array}{ccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(11\right)\end{array}$

The received symbols for the first symbol period are denoted as r₁=[r_1,1 r_2,1]^T, and the received symbols for the second symbol period are denoted as r₂=[r_1,2 r_2,2]^T, where r_j,t is the received symbol from receive antenna j in symbol period t. These four received symbols may be expressed as: r_1,1=+h_eff,1,1·s_a+h_eff,1,2·s_b+h_eff,1,3·s_c+n_1,1,  Eq (12a) r_2,1=+h_eff,2,1·s_a+h_eff,2,2·s_b+h_eff,2,3·s_c+n_2,1,  Eq (12b) r_1,2=−h_eff,1,2·s*_a+h_eff,1,1·s*_b+h_eff,1,3·s*_d+n_1,2, and  Eq (12c) r_2,2=−h_eff,2,2·s*_a+h_eff,2,1·s*_b+h_eff,2,3·s*_d+n_2,2.  Eq (12d)

For the 2×3 configuration with two receive antennas, the data vector s may be formed as s=[s_a s_b s_c s_d]^T, the received vector r may be formed as r=[r_1,1 r_2,1 r*_1,2 r*_2,2]^T, and the overall channel response matrix H_all^2/2×3 may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{2/2\times 3}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& 0\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& 0\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(13\right)\end{array}$ With the above formulation, r may be expressed based on H_all^2/2×3 and s, as shown in equation (10). The matrix H_all^2/2×3 is formed from equation set (12) and using the property: r=h·s*r*=h*·s. As shown in equation (13), the first two rows of H_all^2/2×3 contain all of the elements of H_eff^2/2×3, and the last two rows of H_all^2/2×3 contain the elements of H_eff^2/2×3 but rearranged and transformed (i.e., conjugated and/or inverted) due to the STTD encoding on the data symbols.

For the 2×4 configuration, the transmitting entity generates vectors s₁=[s_a s_b s_c s_d] and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a s*_d −s*_c]^T for two pairs of data symbols (s_a and s_b) and (s_c and s_d) to be sent in two symbol periods for two data symbol streams. Each vector s_t includes four coded symbols to be sent from the N_T transmit antennas in one symbol period, where N_T≧4 for the 2×4 configuration.

If the receiving entity is equipped with two receive antennas (N_R'2 2), then r_t is a 2×1 vector with two received symbols for symbol period t, H is a 2×N_T channel response matrix, and H_eff is a 2×4 effective channel response matrix. The effective channel response matrix for the 2×4 configuration with two receive antennas, which is denoted as H_eff^2/2×4, may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{2/2\times 4}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(15\right)\end{array}$

The received symbols from the two receive antennas in two symbol periods may be expressed as: r_1,1=+h_eff,1,1·s_a+h_eff,1,2·s_b+h_eff,1,3·s_c+h_eff,1,4·s_d+n_1,1,  Eq (15a) r_2,1=+h_eff,2,1·s_a+h_eff,2,2·s_b+h_eff,2,3·s_c+h_eff,2,4·s_d+n_2,1,  Eq (15b) r_1,2=−h_eff,1,2·s*_a+h_eff,1,1·s*_b−h_eff,1,4·s*_c+h_eff,1,3·s*_d+n_1,2, and  Eq (15c) r_2,2=−h_eff,2,2·s*_a+h_eff,2,1·s*_b−h_eff,2,4·s*_c+h_eff,2,3·s*_d+n_2,2.  Eq (15d)

For the 2×4 configuration with two receive antennas, the data vector s may be formed as s=[s_a s_b s_c s_d]^T the received vector r may be formed as r=[r_1,1 r_2,1 r*_1,2 r*_2,2]^T and the overall channel response matrix H_all^2/2×4 may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{2/2\times 4}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(16\right)\end{array}$ As shown in equation (16), the first two rows of H_all^2/2×4 are equal to H_eff^2/2×4, and the last two rows of H_all^2/2×4 contain rearranged and transformed elements of H_eff^2/2×4.

In general, the received vector r for all configurations may be expressed as: r=[r_1,1 . . . r_NR,1 r*_1,2 . . . r*_NR,2]^T.  Eq (17) The data vector s is dependent on the configuration used for data transmission. The overall channel response matrix H_all is dependent on the configuration and the number of receive antennas.

For the 1×2 configuration, the vector s and the matrix H_all may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{s}}_{1\times 2}={\left[s_a{s}_b\right]}^T,\mathrm{and}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(18\right)\\ {\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{1\times 2}=\left[\begin{array}{cc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}\\ ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}\\ ⋮& ⋮\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(19\right)\end{array}$

For the 2×3 configuration, the vector s and the matrix H_all may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{s}}_{2\times 3}={\left[s_a{s}_b{s}_c{s}_d\right]}^T,\mathrm{and}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(20\right)\\ {\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{2\times 3}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& 0\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& 0\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}& 0\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(21\right)\end{array}$

For the 2×4 configuration, the vector s and the matrix H_all may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{s}}_{2\times 4}={\left[s_a{s}_b{s}_c{s}_d\right]}^T,\mathrm{and}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(22\right)\\ {\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{2\times 4}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}^{*}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(23\right)\end{array}$

For the 3×4 configuration, the vector s and the matrix H_all may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{s}}_{3\times 4}={\left[s_a{s}_b{s}_c{s}_d{s}_e{s}_f\right]}^T,\mathrm{and}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(24\right)\\ {\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{3\times 4}=\left[\begin{array}{cccccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}& 0\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}& 0\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}& 0\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}^{*}\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}^{*}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}^{*}& 0& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(25\right)\end{array}$

The multi-antenna receiving entity can derive estimates of the transmitted data symbols using various receiver spatial processing techniques. These techniques include an MMSE technique, a CCMI technique (which is also commonly called a zero-forcing technique or a decorrelation technique), a partial-MMSE technique, and a partial-CCMI technique. For the MMSE and CCMI techniques, the receiving entity performs spatial matched filtering on 2N_R received symbols obtained in each 2-symbol interval. For the partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques, the receiving entity performs spatial matched filtering on N_R received symbols obtained in each symbol period.

A. MMSE Receiver

For the MMSE technique, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{M}}_{\mathrm{mnse}}={\left[{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^H·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}+{\underset{\_}{\phi }}_{\mathrm{nn}}\right]}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^H,\\ ={\left[{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^H·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}+{\sigma }_n^2\underset{\_}{I}\right]}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^H,\end{array}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(26\right)\end{array}$ where

• • Ĥ_all is a 2N_R×2N_D matrix that is an estimate of H_all;
  • φ_nn is an autocovariance matrix of the noise vector n_all in equation (10); and
  • M_mmse is a 2N_D×2N_R MMSE spatial filter matrix.

The receiving entity may derive Ĥ_all in different manners depending on how pilot symbols are sent by the transmitting entity. For example, the receiving entity may obtain Ĥ_eff, which is an estimate the effective channel response matrix H_eff, based on received pilot symbols. The receiving entity may then derive Ĥ_all based on Ĥ_eff, as shown in equation (19), (21), (23) or (25) for the four configurations given in Table 1. The receiving entity may also estimate the overall channel response matrix H_all directly based on received pilot symbols. In any case, the second equality in equation (26) assumes that the noise vector n_all is AWGN with zero mean and variance of σ_n². The spatial filter matrix M_mmse minimizes the mean square error between the symbol estimates from the spatial filter matrix and the data symbols.

The receiving entity performs MMSE spatial processing as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{\mathrm{mmse}}=\underset{\_}{D}·{\underset{\_}{M}}_{\mathrm{mmse}}·\underset{\_}{r},\\ =\underset{\_}{D}·{\underset{\_}{M}}_{\mathrm{mmse}}·\left[{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}·\underset{\_}{s}+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{all}}\right],\\ =\underset{\_}{D}·\underset{\_}{Q}·\underset{\_}{s}+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{mmse}},\end{array}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(27\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ŝ_mmse is a 2N_D×1 vector with 2N_D detected symbols obtained for a 2-symbol interval with the MMSE technique;
  • Q=M_mmse·H_all;
  • D=[diag [Q]]⁻¹ is a 2N_D×2N_D diagonal matrix; and
  • n_mmse is the MMSE filtered noise. The symbol estimates from the spatial filter matrix M_mmse are unnormalized estimates of the data symbols. The multiplication with the scaling matrix D provides normalized estimates of the data symbols.

B. CCMI Receiver

For the CCMI technique, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix as follows: M_ccmi=[Ĥ_all^H·Ĥ_all]⁻¹·Ĥ_all^H={circumflex over (R)}_all⁻¹·Ĥ_all^H,  Eq (28) where M_ccmi is a 2N_D×2N_R CCMI spatial filter matrix.

The receiving entity performs CCMI spatial processing as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{\mathrm{ccmi}}={\underset{\_}{M}}_{\mathrm{ccmi}}·\underset{\_}{r},\\ ={\underset{\_}{\hat{R}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{all}}^H·\left[{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}·\underset{\_}{s}+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{all}}\right],\\ =\underset{\_}{s}+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{ccmi}},\end{array}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(29\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ŝ_ccmi is a 2N_D×1 vector with 2N_D detected symbols obtained for a 2-symbol interval with the CCMI technique; and
  • n_ccmi is the CCMI filtered noise.

C. Partial-MMSE Receiver

For the partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques, the receiving entity performs spatial matched filtering on the N_R received symbols for each symbol period based on a spatial filter matrix for that symbol period. For each STTD encoded data symbol stream, the receiving entity obtains two estimates in two symbol periods for each data symbol sent in the stream and combines these two estimates to generate a single estimate for the data symbol. The partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques may be used if the receiving entity is equipped with at least N_C receive antennas, or N_R≧N_C. There should be at least as many receive antennas as the number of coded symbols transmitted at each symbol period, which is shown in Table 1.

For the partial-MMSE technique, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}={\left[{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^H·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}+{\underset{\_}{\phi }}_{\mathrm{nn}}\right]}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^H,\\ ={\left[{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^H·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}+{\sigma }_n^2\underset{\_}{I}\right]}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\hat{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^H,\end{array}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(30\right)\end{array}$ where

• • Ĥ_eff is an N_R×N_C matrix that is an estimate of H_eff; and
  • M_p-mmse is an N_C×N_R MMSE spatial filter matrix for one symbol period. The effective channel response matrix H_eff is dependent on the configuration used for data transmission and has the form shown in equation (8).

The receiving entity performs MMSE spatial processing for each symbol period as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{\hat{s}}}_{\mathrm{mmse},t}={\underset{\_}{D}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·{\underset{\_}{r}}_t,\\ ={\underset{\_}{D}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·{\underset{\_}{M}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·\left[{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{eff}}·{\underset{\_}{s}}_t+{\underset{\_}{n}}_t\right],\\ ={\underset{\_}{D}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·{\underset{\_}{Q}}_{p-\mathrm{mmse}}·{\underset{\_}{s}}_t+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{mmse},t},\end{array}\mathrm{for}t=1,2,& \mathrm{Eq}\left(31\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ŝ_mmse,t is an N_C×1 vector with N_C detected symbols obtained in symbol period t with the partial-MMSE technique;
  • Q_p-mmse=M_p-mmse·H_eff;
  • D_p-mmse=[diag [Q_p-mmse]]⁻¹ is an N_C×N_C diagonal matrix; and
  • n_mmse,t is the MMSE filtered noise for symbol period t.

The partial-MMSE processing provides two vectors ŝ_mmse,1 and ŝ_mmse,2 for the first and second symbol periods, respectively, which are estimates of vectors s₁ and s₂, respectively. The detected symbols in vector ŝ_mmse,2 are conjugated and/or negated, as needed, to obtain estimates of the data symbols included in vector s₂. As an example, for the 2×3 configuration, ŝ_mmse,1=[ŝ_a ŝ_b ŝ_c]^T and ŝ_mmse,2=[ŝ*_b −ŝ*_a ŝ*_d]^T. For vector ŝ_mmse,2, ŝ*_b is conjugated to obtain a second estimate of s_b, −ŝ*_a is negated and conjugated to obtain a second estimate of s_a, and ŝ*_d is conjugated to obtain an estimate of s_d.

For each STTD encoded data symbol stream, the partial-MMSE processing provides two detected symbols in two symbol periods for each data symbol sent in that stream. In particular, the partial-MMSE processing provides two estimates of s_a and two estimates of s_b for all four configurations in Table 1 and further provides two estimates of s_c and two estimates of s_d for the 2×4 configuration. The two estimates of each data symbol may be combined to generate a single estimate of that data symbol.

The two estimates of a data symbol s_m may be combined using maximal ratio combining (MRC), as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}{\hat{s}}_m=\frac{{\gamma }_{m,1}·{\hat{s}}_{m,1}+{\gamma }_{m,2}·{\hat{s}}_{m,2}}{{\gamma }_{m,1}+{\gamma }_{m,2}},& \mathrm{Eq}\left(32\right)\end{array}$ where

• • ŝ_m,t is an estimate of data symbol s_m obtained in symbol period t;
  • γ_m,t is the SNR of ŝ_m,t; and
  • ŝ_m is a final estimate of data symbol s_m.

The estimate ŝ_m,1 is obtained from coded symbol stream m₁ in symbol period t=1, and the estimate ŝ_m,2 is obtained from coded symbol stream m₂ in symbol period t=2. The SNR of ŝ_m,t for the partial-MMSE technique may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\gamma }_{m,t}=\frac{q_{m_t,m_t}}{1-q_{m_t,m_t}},\mathrm{for}t=1,2,& \mathrm{Eq}\left(33\right)\end{array}$ where

• • m_t is the coded symbol stream from which ŝ_m,t was obtained; and
  • q_mt,mt is the m_t-th diagonal element of Q_p-mmse defined above for equation (31).

The two estimates of data symbol Sm may also be linearly combined, as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}{\hat{s}}_m=\frac{{\hat{s}}_{m,1}+{\hat{s}}_{m,2}}{2}.& \mathrm{Eq}\left(34\right)\end{array}$ Equation (34) provides the same performance as the MRC technique if the SNRs of the two estimates ŝ_m,1 and ŝ_m,2 are equal but provides sub-optimal performance if the SNRs are not equal.

D. Partial-CCMI Receiver

For the partial-CCMI technique, the receiving entity derives a spatial filter matrix for one symbol period as follows: M_p-ccmi=[Ĥ_eff^H·Ĥ_eff]⁻¹·Ĥ_eff^H={circumflex over (R)}_eff⁻¹·Ĥ_eff^H,  Eq (35) where M_p-ccmi is an N_C×N_R CCMI spatial filter matrix for one symbol period.

The receiving entity performs CCMI spatial processing for each symbol period as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{cc}\begin{array}{c}{\underset{\_}{\overset{^}{s}}}_{\mathrm{ccmi},t}={\underset{\_}{M}}_{p-\mathrm{ccmi}}·{\underset{\_}{r}}_t,\\ ={\underset{\_}{\overset{^}{R}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{-1}·{\underset{\_}{\overset{^}{H}}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^H·\left[{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{eff}}·{\underset{\_}{s}}_t+{\underset{\_}{n}}_t\right],\mathrm{for}t=1,2,\\ ={\underset{\_}{s}}_t+{\underset{\_}{n}}_{\mathrm{ccmi},t},\end{array}& \mathrm{Eq}\left(36\right)\end{array}& \end{array}$ where

• • ŝ_ccmi,t is an N_C×1 vector with N_C detected symbols obtained in symbol period t with the partial-CCMI technique; and
  • n_ccmi,t is the CCMI filtered noise for symbol period t.

The receiving entity may combine two estimates of a given data symbol using MRC, as shown in equation (32). In this case, the SNR of detected symbol ŝ_m,t for the CCMI technique may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\gamma }_{m,t}=\frac{1}{r_{m_t,m_t}·{\sigma }_n^2,}\mathrm{for}t=1,2,& \mathrm{Eq}\left(37\right)\end{array}$ where r_mt,mt is the m_t-th diagonal element of {circumflex over (R)}_eff⁻¹.

The partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques may reduce delay (or latency) for data symbol streams sent without STTD. The partial-MMSE and partial-CCMI techniques may also reduce complexity of the spatial matched filtering since the spatial filter matrix for each symbol period has dimension of N_C×N_R whereas the spatial filter matrix for each 2-symbol period interval has dimension of 2N_D×2N_R.

4. Alternate STTD Encoding Scheme

For clarity, the description above is for the case in which a pair of data symbols s_a and s_b is STTD encoded into two vectors s₁=[s_a s_b]^T and s₂=[s*_b −s*_a]^T. As noted above, the pair of data symbols s_a and s_b may also be STTD encoded into two vectors is s₁=[s_a −s*_b]^T and s₂=[s_b s*_a]^T. The various vectors and matrices described above may be different for this alternate STTD encoding scheme.

As an example, for the 2×4 configuration, the transmitting entity may generate vectors is s₁=[s_a −s*_b s_c −s*_d]^T and s₂=[s_b s*_a s_d s*_c]^T for two pairs of data symbols (s_a and s_b) and (s_c and s_d) to be sent in two symbol periods for two data symbol streams. The data vector s may be given as s=[s_a s*_b s_c s*_d]^T, the received vector r may be given as r=[r_1,1 . . . r_NR,1 r*_1,2 . . . r*_NR,2]^T, and the overall channel response matrix H_all may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{H}}_{\mathrm{all}}^{2\times 4}=\left[\begin{array}{cccc}{h}_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}& -h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},1,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,1}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},1,3}^{*}\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},2,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,1}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},2,3}^{*}\\ ⋮& ⋮& ⋮& ⋮\\ h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,2}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,1}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,4}^{*}& h_{\mathrm{eff},N_R,3}^{*}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(38\right)\end{array}$ The vectors s₁, s₂ and s and the matrix H_all for the other configurations may be derived in similar manner as described above for the 2×4 configuration.

For the alternate STTD encoding scheme, the receiving entity uses the matrix H_all defined for the alternate STTD encoding scheme, instead of the matrix H_all defined for first STTD encoding scheme, to derive an MMSE spatial filter matrix or a CCMI spatial filter matrix. For the 2×4 configuration, the matrix H_all shown in equation (38) is used instead of the matrix H_all shown in equation (23). The receiving entity then performs spatial matched filtering on the received vector r with the spatial filter matrix to obtain ŝ, which is an estimate of s for the alternate STTD encoding scheme. The receiving entity then conjugates the symbols in ŝ, as needed, to obtain the recovered data symbols.

In general, the overall channel response matrix H_all is dependent on the manner in which the STTD encoding is performed by the transmitting entity and any other spatial processing performed by the transmitting entity. The receiving entity performs MMSE or CCMI processing in the same manner, albeit with the overall channel response matrix derived in the proper manner.

The effective channel response matrix H_eff is the same for both STTD encoding schemes and is shown in equation (8). The receiving entity uses H_eff to derive a partial-MMSE spatial filter matrix or a partial-CCMI spatial filter matrix. The receiving entity then performs spatial matched filtering on the received vector r_t for each symbol period with the spatial filter matrix to obtain ŝ_t, which is an estimate of s_t for the alternate STTD encoding scheme. The receiving entity then conjugates the detected symbols in ŝ_t as needed and further combines estimates as appropriate to obtain the recovered data symbols.

5. Receiver Processing

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an RX spatial processor 170a and an RX STTD processor 172a, which can implement the MMSE or CCMI technique. RX spatial processor 170a and RX STTD processor 172a are one embodiment of RX spatial processor 170 and RX STTD processor 172, respectively, for multi-antenna receiving entity 150y in FIG. 2. Channel estimator 166 derives the effective channel response estimate Ĥ_eff based on received pilot symbols, as described below. Matched filter generator 168 forms the overall channel response estimate Ĥ_all based on Ĥ_eff and derives an MMSE or CCMI spatial filter matrix M for a 2-symbol interval based on Ĥ_all, as shown in equation (26) or (28).

Within RX spatial processor 170a, a pre-processor 310 obtains the received vector r_t for each symbol period, conjugates the received symbols for the second symbol period of each 2-symbol interval, and forms the received vector r for each 2-symbol interval, as shown in equation (17). A spatial processor 320 performs spatial matched filtering on the received vector r with the spatial filter matrix M and provides vector ŝ, as shown in equation (27) or (29). Within RX STUD processor 172a, an STTD post-processor 330 conjugates the symbols in vector ŝ, as needed, and provides 2N_D recovered data symbols for each 2-symbol interval. A demultiplexer (Demux) 340 demultiplexes the recovered data symbols from STUD post-processor 330 onto N_D recovered data symbol streams and provides these streams to RX data processor 174.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an RX spatial processor 170b and an RX STTD processor 172b, which can implement the partial-MMSE or partial-CCMI technique. RX spatial processor 170b and RX STTD processor 172b are another embodiment of RX spatial processor 170 and RX STTD processor 172, respectively. Channel estimator 166 derives the effective channel response estimate Ĥ_eff. Matched filter generator 168 generates a partial-MMSE or partial-CCMI spatial filter matrix M_p for one symbol period based on Ĥ_eff, as shown in equation (30) or (35).

Within RX spatial processor 170b, a spatial processor 420 performs spatial matched filtering on the received vector r_t for each symbol period with the spatial filter matrix M_p for that symbol period and provides vector ŝ_t, as shown in equation (31) or (36). Within RX STTD processor 172b, an STTD post-processor 430 conjugates the detected symbols in vector ŝ_t, as needed, and provides N_C data symbol estimates for each symbol period. A combiner 432 combines two estimates for each data symbol sent with STTD, e.g., as shown in equation (32) or (34), and provides a single estimate for that data symbol. A demultiplexer 440 demultiplexes the recovered data symbols from combiner 432 onto N_D recovered data symbol streams and provides these streams to RX data processor 174.

FIG. 5 shows a process 500 for receiving a data transmission with the MMSE or CCMI technique. Received symbols are obtained for the data transmission, which includes at least one STTD encoded data symbol stream (block 510). An effective channel response matrix is obtained, e.g., based on received pilot symbols (block 512). An overall channel response matrix is formed based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with the STUD encoding scheme used for the data transmission (block 514). A spatial filter matrix is derived based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with, e.g., the MMSE or CCMI technique (block 516). A vector of received symbols is formed for each 2-symbol interval (block 518). Spatial processing is performed on the vector of received symbols for each 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval (block 520). Post-processing (e.g., conjugation) is performed on the detected symbols, if needed, to obtain recovered data symbols (block 522).

FIG. 6 shows a process 600 for receiving a data transmission with the partial-MMSE or partial-CCMI technique. Received symbols are obtained for the data transmission, which includes at least one STTD encoded data symbol stream (block 610). An effective channel response matrix is obtained, e.g., based on received pilot symbols (block 612). A spatial filter matrix is derived based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with, e.g., the MMSE or CCMI technique (block 614). Spatial processing is performed on the received symbols for each symbol period with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period (block 616). Post-processing (e.g., conjugation) is performed on the detected symbols, if needed, to obtain estimates of data symbols (block 618). Multiple estimates of each data symbol sent with STTD are combined to obtain a single estimate for the data symbol (block 620).

6. SFTD and Spatial Spreading

The transmitting entity may also use a combination of SFTD, spatial spreading, and possibly continuous beamforming. For each configuration shown in Table 1, the transmitting entity may generate two vectors s₁ and s₂ for 2N_D data symbols to be sent on two subbands in one symbol period for N_D data symbol streams. The transmitting entity may spatially spread and send vector s₁ on one subband in one symbol period and spatially spread and send vector s₂ on another subband in the same symbol period. The two subbands are typically adjacent subbands. The receiving entity may derive the overall channel response matrix H_all as described above, except that the first N_R rows of H_all are for the first subband (instead of the first symbol period) and the last N_R rows of H_all are for the second subband (instead of the second symbol period). The receiving entity may perform MMSE, CCMI, partial-MMSE, or partial-CCMI processing in the manner described above.

7. Steering Matrices for Spatial Spreading

Various types of steering matrices may be used for spatial spreading. For example, the steering matrix V may be a Walsh matrix, a Fourier matrix, or some other matrix. A 2×2 Walsh matrix W_2×2 be expressed as ${\underset{\_}{W}}_{2\times 2}=\left[\begin{array}{cc}1& 1\\ 1& -1\end{array}\right].$ A larger size Walsh matrix W_2N×2N may be formed from a smaller size Walsh matrix W_N×N, as follows: $\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{W}}_{2N\times 2N}=\left[\begin{array}{cc}{\underset{\_}{W}}_{N\times N}& {\underset{\_}{W}}_{N\times N}\\ {\underset{\_}{W}}_{N\times N}& -{\underset{\_}{W}}_{N\times N}\end{array}\right].& \mathrm{Eq}\left(39\right)\end{array}$ An N×N Fourier matrix D_N×N has element d_n,m in the n-th row of the m-th column, which may be expressed as: $\begin{array}{cc}{d}_{n,m}=e^{-\mathrm{j\pi }\frac{\left(n-1\right)\left(m-1\right)}{N}},\mathrm{for}n=1\dots N\mathrm{and}m=1\dots N.& \mathrm{Eq}\left(40\right)\end{array}$ Fourier matrices of any square dimension (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, and so on) may be formed.

A Walsh matrix W_N×N, a Fourier matrix D_N×N, or any other matrix may be used as a base matrix B_N×N to form other steering matrices. For an N×N base matrix, each of rows 2 through N of the base matrix may be independently multiplied with one of M different possible scalars. M^N−1 different steering matrices may be obtained from M^N−1 different permutations of the M scalars for the N−1 rows. For example, each of rows 2 through N may be independently multiplied with a scalar of +1, −1, +j, or −j, where j=√{square root over (−1)}. For N=4, 64 different steering matrices may be generated from a base matrix B_4×4 with the four different scalars. Additional steering matrices may be generated with other scalars, e.g., e^±j3π/4, e^±jπ/4, e^±jπ/8, and so on. In general, each row of the base matrix may be multiplied with any scalar having the form e^jθ, where θ may be any phase value. N×N steering matrices may be generated from the N×N base matrix as V(i)=g_N·B_N×Nⁱ, where g_N=1/√{square root over (N)} and B_N×Nⁱ is the i-th steering matrix generated with the base matrix B_N×N. The scaling by g_N=1/√{square root over (N)} ensures that each column of V(i) has unit power.

The steering matrices may also be generated in a pseudo-random manner. The steering matrices are typically unitary matrices having columns that are orthogonal to one another. The steering matrices may also be orthonormal matrices having orthogonal columns and unit power for each column, so that V^H·V=I, and I is the identity matrix. A steering matrix of a dimension that is not square may be obtained by deleting one or more columns of a square steering matrix.

Different steering matrices may be used for different time intervals. For example, different steering matrices may be used for different symbol periods for SFTD and for different 2-symbol intervals for STTD and OTD. For an OFDM system, different steering matrices may be used for different subbands for STTD and OTD and for different pairs of subbands for SFTD. Different steering matrices may also be used for different subbands and different symbol periods. The randomization provided by spatial spreading (across time and/or frequency) with the use of different steering matrices can mitigate deleterious effects of a wireless channel.

8. Frame Structure and MIMO Pilot

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary protocol data unit (PDU) 700 that supports MISO and MIMO transmissions. PDU 700 includes a section 710 for a MIMO pilot and a section 720 for data. PDU 700 may also include other sections, e.g., for a preamble, signaling, and so on. A MIMO pilot is a pilot that is sent from all transmit antennas used for data transmission and allows a receiving entity to estimate the MISO or MIMO channel used for data transmission. The MIMO pilot may be transmitted in various manners.

In an embodiment, the transmitting entity transmits a “clear” MIMO pilot (i.e., without spatial spreading) from all N_T transmit antennas, as follows: x_pilot^ns(k,t)=W(t)·p(k), for t=1 . . . L,  Eq (41) where

• • p(k) is an N_T×1 vector with N_T pilot symbols sent on subband k;
  • W(t) is an N_T×N_T diagonal Walsh matrix for symbol period t; and
  • x_pilot^ns (k,t) is an N_T×1 vector with N_T spatially processed symbols for the clear MIMO pilot for subband k in symbol period t. The N_T transmit antennas may be assigned N_T different Walsh sequences of length L, where L≧N_T. Each Walsh sequence corresponds to one diagonal element of W(t). Alternatively, the transmitting entity may generate the clear MIMO pilot as: x_pilot^ns(k,t)=w(t)·p(k), where p(k) is a scalar for a pilot symbol, and w(t) is an N_T×1 vector with the Walsh sequences assigned to the N_T transmit antennas. For simplicity, the continuous beamforming is not shown in equation (41) but is typically performed in the same manner, if at all, for both pilot and data transmission. The MIMO channel is assumed to be constant over the length of the Walsh sequences.

The received pilot symbols obtained by the receiving entity for the clear MIMO pilot may be expressed as: r_pilot^ns(k,t)=H(k)·W(t)·p(k)+n(k), for t=1 . . . L,  Eq (42) where r_pilot^ns(k,t) is an N_R×1 vector with N_R received pilot symbols for the clear MIMO pilot for subband k in symbol period t.

The receiving entity may derive an estimate of the MIMO channel matrix H(k) based on the clear MIMO pilot. Each column of H(k) is associated with a respective Walsh sequence. The receiving entity may obtain an estimate of h_j,i(k), which is the channel gain between the i-th transmit antenna and the j-th receive antenna, as follows. The receiving entity first multiplies the j-th element of r_pilot^ns(k,1) through r_pilot^ns(k,L) by the L chips of Walsh sequence W_i assigned to the i-th transmit antenna and obtains a sequence of L recovered symbols. The receiving entity then removes the modulation used for pilot symbol p_i(k), which is the i-th element of p(k), from the L recovered symbols. The receiving entity then accumulates the L resultant symbols to obtain the estimate of h_j,i(k), which is the element in the j-th row and the i-th column of H(k). The process is repeated for each of the elements of H(k). The receiver entity may then derive an estimate of H_eff(k) based on Ĥ(k) and the known steering matrices used by the transmitting entity. The receiving entity may use Ĥ(k) for receiver spatial processing, as described above.

The transmitting entity may send a spatially spread MIMO pilot, as follows: x_pilot^ss(k,t)=V(k)·W(t)·p(k), for t=1 . . . L,  Eq (43) where

• • p(k) is an N_C×1 vector with N_C pilot symbols to be sent on subband k;
  • W(t) is an N_C×N_C diagonal Walsh matrix for symbol period t;
  • V(k) is an N×N_C steering matrix for spatial spreading for subband k; and
  • x_pilot^ss(k,t) is an N_T×1 vector with N_T spatially processed symbols for the spatially spread MIMO pilot for subband k in symbol period t. The Walsh sequences have length of L, where L≧N_C for the spatially spread MIMO pilot. Alternatively, the transmitting entity may generate the spatially spread MIMO pilot as: x_pilot^ss(k,t)=V(k)·w(t)·p(k), where p(k) and w(t) are described above.

The received pilot symbols obtained by the receiving entity for the spatially spread MIMO pilot may be expressed as: r_pilot^ss(k,t)=H(k)·V(k)·W(t)·p(k)+n(k),  Eq (44) where r_pilot^ss(k,t) is an N_R×1 vector with N_R received pilot symbols for the spatially spread MIMO pilot for subband k in symbol period t.

The receiving entity may derive an estimate of the effective MIMO channel H_eff(k) based on the received pilot symbols in r_pilot^ss(k,t), e.g., as described above for the clear MIMO pilot. In this case, the receiving entity removes p(k) and W(t) and obtains Ĥ_eff(k), which is an estimate of H(k)·V(k). Alternatively, the transmitting entity may generate a spatially spread MIMO pilot as: x_pilot^ss(k,t)=W(t)·p(k) or x_pilot^ss(k,t)=w(t)·p(k), where W(t) or w(t) performs the spatial spreading. In this case, the receiving entity may form Ĥ_eff(k), which is an estimate of H(k)·W(k), directly based on the received pilot symbols without any extra processing. In any case, the receiving entity may use Ĥ_eff(k) for receiver spatial processing.

In another embodiment, the transmitting entity transmits a clear or spatially spread MIMO pilot using subband multiplexing. With subband multiplexing, only one transmit antenna is used for each subband in each symbol period. The Walsh matrix W(t) is not needed.

The data transmission and reception techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units at a transmitting entity may be implemented within one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. The processing units at a receiving entity may also be implemented within one or more ASICs, DSPs, and so on.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in a memory unit (e.g., memory unit 142 in FIG. 1, or memory unit 182x or 182y in FIG. 2) and executed by a processor (e.g., controller 140 in FIG. 1, or controller 180x or 180y in FIG. 2). The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor.

Headings are included herein for reference and to aid in locating certain sections. These headings are not intended to limit the scope of the concepts described therein under, and these concepts may have applicability in other sections throughout the entire specification.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method of receiving data in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining received symbols for a data transmission comprising at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; deriving a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and performing spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the effective channel response matrix comprises receiving pilot symbols sent with the data transmission, and deriving the effective channel response matrix based on the received pilot symbols.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the effective channel response matrix comprises receiving pilot symbols sent with spatial spreading, and deriving the effective channel response matrix based on the received pilot symbols.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining the effective channel response matrix comprises receiving pilot symbols sent with spatial spreading and continuous beamforming, and deriving the effective channel response matrix based on the received pilot symbols.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming an overall channel response matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval, and wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: combining multiple detected symbols obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing maximal ratio combining of multiple detected symbols obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing post-processing on the detected symbols in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission to obtain estimates of data symbols sent for the data transmission.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the performing post-processing on the detected symbols comprises conjugating the detected symbols, as needed, in accordance with the STTD scheme used for the data transmission.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising: demultiplexing the data symbol estimates onto one or more data symbol streams sent for the data transmission.

17. A method of receiving data in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining received symbols for a data transmission comprising multiple data symbol streams with at least one data symbol stream being sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; deriving a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and performing spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the plurality of data symbol streams.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the obtaining the received symbols comprises obtaining the received symbols for the data transmission comprising the multiple data symbol streams with at least one data symbol stream being sent with STTD and at least one data symbol stream being sent without STTD.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the obtaining the received symbols comprises obtaining the received symbols for the data transmission comprising the multiple data symbol streams with at least two data symbol streams being sent with STTD.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the obtaining the effective channel response matrix comprises estimating channel gains for each of the multiple data symbol streams at a plurality of receive antennas, and forming the effective channel response matrix with the estimated channel gains for the multiple data symbol streams and the plurality of receive antennas.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the plurality of data symbol streams in the symbol period.

22. An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising: at least one demodulator to obtain received symbols for a data transmission comprising at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); a channel estimator to obtain an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; a matched filter generator to derive a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and a spatial processor to perform spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the effective channel response matrix includes effects of spatial processing performed for the data transmission.

24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the matched filter generator forms an overall channel response matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the matched filter generator forms the spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

26. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the spatial processor forms a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval and performs spatial processing on the vector of received symbols to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

27. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the matched filter generator forms the spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

28. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the spatial processor performs spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.

29. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: a combiner to combine multiple detected symbols obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

30. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising: a post-processor to perform post-processing on the detected symbols in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission to obtain estimates of data symbols sent for the data transmission.

31. An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising: means for obtaining received symbols for a data transmission comprising at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); means for obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; means for deriving a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and means for performing spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

32. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising: means for forming an overall channel response matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein the means for deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises means for forming the spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

34. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising: means for forming a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval, and wherein the means for performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises means for performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

35. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the means for deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises means for forming the spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

36. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein means for performing spatial processing comprises means for performing spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.

37. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising: means for combining multiple detected symbols obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

38. A method of receiving data in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining received symbols for a data transmission comprising at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; forming an overall channel response matrix in accordance with an STTD encoding scheme used for the data transmission; deriving a spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix; forming a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval; and performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the overall channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

40. A method of receiving data in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining received symbols for a data transmission comprising at least one data symbol stream sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD); obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission; deriving a spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix; performing spatial processing on the received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period; and combining multiple detected symbols obtained for each data symbol sent with STTD.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix based on the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

42. A method of receiving data in a wireless communication system, comprising: obtaining received symbols for a data transmission sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD), space-frequency transmit diversity (SFTD), or orthogonal transmit diversity (OTD) for at least one data symbol stream and with spatial spreading for all data symbol streams in the data transmission; obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission and including effects of the spatial spreading; deriving a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and performing spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising: forming a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval, and wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

44. The method of claim 42, further comprising: forming a vector of received symbols for each pair of frequency subbands, and wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the pair of frequency subbands with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the pair of frequency subbands.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein the performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises performing spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein the deriving the spatial filter matrix comprises forming the spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix and in accordance with a minimum mean square error (MMSE) technique or a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique.

47. An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising: at least one demodulator to obtain received symbols for a data transmission sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD), space-frequency transmit diversity (SFTD), or orthogonal transmit diversity (OTD) for at least one data symbol stream and with spatial spreading for all data symbol streams in the data transmission; a channel estimator to obtain an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission and including effects of the spatial spreading; a matched filter generator to derive a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and a spatial processor to perform spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the spatial processor forms a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval and performs spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the spatial processor performs spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.

50. An apparatus in a wireless communication system, comprising: means for obtaining received symbols for a data transmission sent with space-time transmit diversity (STTD), space-frequency transmit diversity (SFTD), or orthogonal transmit diversity (OTD) for at least one data symbol stream and with spatial spreading for all data symbol streams in the data transmission; means for obtaining an effective channel response matrix for the data transmission and including effects of the spatial spreading; means for deriving a spatial filter matrix with the effective channel response matrix; and means for performing spatial processing on the received symbols with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, further comprising: means for forming a vector of received symbols for a 2-symbol interval, and wherein the means for performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises means for performing spatial processing on the vector of received symbols for the 2-symbol interval with the spatial filter matrix to obtain a vector of detected symbols for the 2-symbol interval.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the means for performing spatial processing on the received symbols comprises means for performing spatial processing on received symbols for each of at least two symbol periods with the spatial filter matrix to obtain detected symbols for the symbol period.