Distributed Space-time Coding Research Articles

Soft-decision-and-forward protocol for cooperative communication networks with multiple antennas

In this paper, a cooperative relaying protocol called soft-decision-and-forward (SDF) with multiple antennas in each node is introduced. SDF protocol exploits the soft decision source symbol values from the received signal at the relay node. For orthogonal transmission (OT), orthogonal codes including Alamouti code are used and for non-orthogonal transmission (NT), distributed space-time codes are designed by using a quasi-orthogonal space-time block code. The optimal maximum likelihood (ML) decoders for the proposed protocol with low de coding complexity are proposed. For OT, the ML decoders are derived as symbolwise decoders while for NT, the ML decoders are derived as pairwise decoders. It can be seen through simulations that SDF protocol outperforms AF protocol for both OT and NT.

Construction of New Delay-Tolerant Space-Time Codes

Perfect space-time codes (STC) are optimal codes in their original construction for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Based on cyclic division algebras (CDA), they are full-rate, full-diversity codes, have non-vanishing determinants (NVD) and hence achieve diversity-multiplexing tradeoff (DMT). In addition, these codes have led to optimal distributed space-time codes when applied in cooperative networks under the assumption of perfect synchronization between relays. However, they lose their diversity when delays are introduced and thus are not delay-tolerant. In this paper, using the cyclic division algebras of perfect codes, we construct new codes that maintain the same properties as perfect codes in the synchronous case. Moreover, these codes preserve their full-diversity in asynchronous transmission.

Co-ordinate Interleaved Distributed Space-time Code Based on Phase Rotation

两天线的中继网络中，坐标交织分布式空时码(CIDSTC)的设计未考虑到信道状态信息(CSI)。针对此问题，该文提出了一种基于相位旋转的坐标交织分布式空时码(PR-CIDSTC)，中继节点将其发送信号旋转适当的角度，该角度由接收端根据CSI以最小化成对差错概率(PEP)为目标而设计并反馈到发送端。仿真结果显示，误码率(BER)为10-5时，PR-CIDSTC只需2 bit的反馈量就获得了1.5 dB的增益。

High-Throughput Multi-Source Cooperation via Complex-Field Network Coding

Physical-layer network coding over wireless networks can provide considerable throughput gains with respect to traditional cooperative relaying strategies at no loss of diversity gain. In this paper, a novel cooperation protocol is developed based on complex-field wireless network coding. Sources transmit efficiently information symbols linearly combined with symbols from other sources. Different from existing wireless network coding protocols, transmissions are not restricted to binary symbols, and do not have to be received simultaneously. In a network with N sources, the developed protocol can achieve throughput up to approximately 1/N symbols per source per channel use, as well as diversity of order N. To deal with decoding errors at sources, selective- and adaptive-forwarding protocols are also developed at no loss of diversity gain. Analytical results corroborated by simulated tests show considerable performance gains with respect to distributed space-time coding, and bit-level network coding protocols.

Distributed Space-Time/Frequency Coding Schemes for Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access Systems

The single carrier-frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) system is a new system that was adopted in the standardization of the upcoming 3GPP long-term evolution (LTE). Designing diversity-achieving schemes for the SC-FDMA system is a challenging task. The codes adopted should not affect the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) among other constraints. In this paper, we consider the design of cooperative diversity schemes for SC-FDMA systems in the uplink direction. Specifically, two relay-assisted distributed space-time/frequency codes are proposed. The proposed distributed space-frequency code (SFC) achieves full spatial diversity in the uplink fast-fading channels, where a diversity of order three can be achieved. The proposed code keeps a low PAPR, which is a good feature of the system. A minimum mean square error (MMSE) decoder is used at the receiver of the destination node. Moreover, we propose a bandwidth-efficient distributed space-time code (STC) for slow-fading relay channels. A decode-and-forward (DF) protocol is used at the relay node, and the possibility of erroneous decoding is taken into account. Simulation results demonstrate the performance improvement of the proposed schemes.

Multi-Relay Selection Design and Analysis for Multi-Stream Cooperative Communications

In this paper, we consider the problem of multi-relay selection for multi-stream cooperative MIMO systems with M relay nodes. Traditionally, relay selection approaches are primarily focused on selecting one relay node to improve the transmission reliability given a single-antenna destination node. As such, in the cooperative phase whereby both the source and the selected relay nodes transmit to the destination node, it is only feasible to exploit cooperative spatial diversity (for example by means of distributed space time coding). For wireless systems with a multi-antenna destination node, in the cooperative phase it is possible to opportunistically transmit multiple data streams to the destination node by utilizing multiple relay nodes. Therefore, we propose a low overhead multi-relay selection protocol to support multi-stream cooperative communications. In addition, we derive the asymptotic performance results at high SNR for the proposed scheme and discuss the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff as well as the throughput-reliability tradeoff. From these results, we show that the proposed multi-stream cooperative communication scheme achieves lower outage probability compared to existing baseline schemes.

Relay Power Allocation in Distributed Space-Time Coded Networks with Channel Statistical Information

This letter considers two-relay networks with Rician fading channels. It is assumed that the receiver has full channel information while the relays know the channel means and covariances only. To optimize network performance, we combine distributed space-time coding (DSTC) with relay power allocation. For the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime, we analytically find the relay power allocation that minimizes an upper bound on the pairwise error probability (PEP). Simulation shows that the proposed scheme largely improves network reliability. In some cases, lack of power allocation causes diversity loss.

Cognitive Cooperation for the Downlink of Frequency Reuse Small Cells

We develop a cooperative diversity protocol coded over space, time, and frequency to achieve improved quality of service for mobile users in the downlink of small-cell frequency reuse networks. The proposed protocol, called cooperative frequency reuse (CFR), leverages the cellular frequency reuse concept to create space and frequency diversity among pairs of adjacent base stations. The CFR protocol is compatible with the half-duplex mode and is distributed in the sense that each base station acts in autonomy, without the need of a centralized entity. It is implemented in two phases. During the first phase, each base station independently serves its own users on its dedicated frequency band. It simultaneously listens to the symbols transmitted by neighboring base stations. Cognitive cooperation is introduced in the second phase, where each base station transmits on two frequency bands to the scheduled users in both base stations, by means of an appropriately chosen distributed space time code based on the Golden code. We analyze and discuss the performance of the proposed protocol in terms of bit error rate, probability of outage, and ergodic sum rate under different scenarios. Simulation results show that the proposed protocol yields considerable improvement over direct transmission frequency reuse strategies.

Multisource Transmission for Wireless Relay Networks With Linear Complexity

This paper considers transmission schemes in multi-access relay networks (MARNs) where $J$ single-antenna sources send independent information to one $N$-antenna destination through one $M$-antenna relay. For complexity considerations, we propose a linear framework, where the relay linearly transforms its received signals to generate the forwarded signals without decoding and the destination uses its multi-antennas to fully decouple signals from different sources before decoding, by which the decoding complexity is linear in the number of sources. To achieve a high symbol rate, we first propose a scheme called DSTC-ICRec in which all sources' information streams are concurrently transmitted in both the source-relay link and the relay-destination link. In this scheme, distributed space-time coding (DSTC) is applied at the relay, which satisfies the linear constraint. DSTC also allows the destination to conduct the zero-forcing interference cancellation (IC) scheme originally proposed for multi-antenna systems to fully decouple signals from different sources. Our analysis shows that the symbol rate of DSTC-ICRec is $1/2$ symbols/source/channel use and the diversity gain of the scheme is upperbounded by $M-J+1$. To achieve a higher diversity gain, we propose another scheme called TDMA-ICRec in which the sources time-share the source-relay link. The relay coherently combines the signals on its antennas to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of each source, then concurrently forwards all sources' information. The destination performs zero-forcing IC. It is shown through both analysis and simulation that when $N \ge 2J-1$, TDMA-ICRec achieves the same maximum diversity gain as the full TDMA scheme in which the information stream from each source is assigned to an orthogonal channel in both links, but with a higher symbol rate.

Power Allocation for Channel Estimation and Performance of Mismatched Decoding in Wireless Relay Networks

This paper is concerned with power allocation (PA) among the source and the relays of wireless relay networks to minimize the mean-square error (MSE) of the channel estimation when distributed space-time coding (DSTC) is applied. The optimal PA scheme is numerically obtained by means of geometric programming for the least-squares (LS) estimator, and a closed-form near-optimal PA scheme is also suggested. The impact of imperfect channel estimation on the error performance of DSTC is analyzed for both the LS and linear minimum MSE (LMMSE) channel estimators. It is proved that mismatched decoding of DSTC is able to achieve the same diversity order as coherent decoding of DSTC. Furthermore, when the closed-form PA obtained in the training phase is applied to the transmission phase, mismatched decoding is able to achieve a significant coding gain over the equal-PA scheme (which assigns half of the total power to the source and equally shares the other half to all the relays).

Cooperative diversity schemes for uplink single-carrier FDMA systems

Single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) is considered as a promising technique that is adopted in the uplink for the upcoming 3GPP long term evolution (LTE). This is because it keeps most of the advantages of OFDMA in addition to low peak to average power ratio (PAPR). Designing diversity achieving schemes for SC-FDMA is a challenging task. The code should not affect the PAPR among other constraints. In this paper, we propose cooperative diversity schemes for SC-FDMA systems. Specifically, distributed space-time/frequency codes are proposed. The proposed distributed space-frequency code (DSFC) takes into account the low PAPR which is the feature of the system. Both decode-and-forward (DAF) and amplify-and-forward (AAF) protocols are considered. Erroneous decoding at the relay node is taken into account. Moreover, we propose a bandwidth efficient distributed space-time code (DSTC) for slow fading relay channels with DAF. Analytical and simulation results indicate that the proposed schemes achieve full diversity at the expense of small performance loss compared to the proposed codes in the literature.

Bypassing Orthogonal Relaying Transmissions via Spatial Signal Separation

We argue for incorporating Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) into cooperative relaying, in order to bypass orthogonal relaying transmissions and thus achieve diversity gain without any cost on the available degrees of freedom. In particular, we propose a cooperative relaying scheme that utilizes two single-antenna relays and multiple antennas at the destination terminal, in order to spatially separate the concurrently arriving signals. The whole concept is based upon two key elements: a) To combat the half-duplex constraint by having two relays transmitting alternatively, i.e., the one receiving while the other transmitting and vice versa, and b) to spatially separate the signals arriving concurrently at the destination using the well-known optimum combining technique. Closed-form expressions for the average capacity and outage probability are provided. Numerical results manifest that the proposed model outperforms orthogonal relaying as well as distributed space-time coding in terms of average capacity and outage probability, owing to the former's advantage of higher spectral efficiency.

Power Allocation Strategies for Distributed Space-Time Codes in Two-Way Relay Networks

We study a two-way relay network (TWRN), where distributed space-time codes are constructed across multiple relay terminals in an amplify-and-forward mode. Each relay transmits a scaled linear combination of its received symbols and their conjugates, with the scaling factor chosen based on automatic gain control. We consider equal power allocation (EPA) across the relays, as well as the optimal power allocation (OPA) strategy given access to instantaneous channel state information (CSI). For EPA, we derive an upper bound on the pairwise-error-probability (PEP), from which we prove that full diversity is achieved in TWRNs. This result is in contrast to one-way relay networks, in which case a maximum diversity order of only unity can be obtained. When instantaneous CSI is available at the relays, we show that the OPA which minimizes the conditional PEP of the worse link can be cast as a generalized linear fractional program, which can be solved efficiently using the Dinkelback-type procedure. We also prove that, if the sum-power of the relay terminals is constrained, then the OPA will activate at most two relays.

Distributed space-time coded non-orthogonal DF protocols with source antenna switching

In this paper, a new distributed space-time coded (DS-TCed) non-orthogonal decode-and-forward (NDF) protocol with source antenna switching (SAS) is proposed, where two antennas associated with each radio frequency chain can be alternatively used in the first and second phases. Several DSTC schemes for the NDF with SAS (NDF-SAS) protocol are proposed and their average pairwise error probability for the error-free source-relay (SR) channel is also derived. The simulation results show that the NDF-SAS protocol achieves larger diversity order than the NDF protocol under the error-free and erroneous SR channels.

Two-Transmitter Two-Receiver Cooperative MAC Protocol: Cross-Layer Design and Performance Analysis

Cooperative diversity is a promising and practical technique for realizing spatial diversity through a virtual antenna array formed by multiple distributed antennas of different nodes. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a novel cooperative cross-layer medium access control (CC-MAC) protocol, which combines space-time coding and adaptive modulation at the physical layer and employs truncated automatic repeat request (ARQ) at the data-link layer. The transmitter's partner is selected in the previous hop, and the receiver invites a partner to participate in data reception in the current hop, and in this situation, a two-transmitter two-receiver model is constructed. Because distributed space-time coding is applied at the transmitting set (transmitter and its partner), cooperative diversity and coding gain can be obtained. Based on the instantaneous channel state measured at the receiver, an adaptive modulation scheme is adopted to improve the link throughput at the physical layer. In addition, the truncated ARQ scheme is employed to further enhance the throughput performance at the data-link layer. Furthermore, under different system models with or without the truncated ARQ scheme, performances of the average packet error rate (PER) and symbol error rate (SER) with multiple phase shift keying (M-PSK) modulation and multiple quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) over Rayleigh fading channel are analyzed. Simulation results verify the correctness of the performance analysis and show that CC-MAC can significantly improve system throughput and energy efficiency compared with other transmission schemes.

Cooperative Space–Time Coding with Amplify-and- Forward Relaying

Cooperative diversity using distributed space-time codes has been recently proposed to form virtual antennas in order to achieve diversity gain. In this paper, we consider a multi-relay network operating in amplify-and-forward (AAF) mode. Motivated by protocol III presented in (Nabar et al. 2004), we propose a cooperative diversity protocol implementing space---time coding for an arbitrary number of relay nodes when the source-destination link contributes in the second phase. We consider the use of real-orthogonal and quasi-orthogonal designs of space---time codes as they give better performance than random linear-dispersion codes. The pairwise error probability (PEP) has been derived and the theoretical analysis demonstrates that the proposed protocol achieves a diversity of order N?+?1, where N is the number of relay nodes. No instantaneous channel state information is required at the relay nodes. The optimum power allocation that minimizes the PEP is obtained with numerical and theoretical analysis. The aggregate system power constraint is considered in the optimization. Simulation results demonstrate an improvement over the existing orthogonal protocols for different source-destination channel conditions. The results also show that the proposed scheme is robust to the channel estimation errors

Combination of MRC and Distributed Space-Time Coding in Networks with Multiple-Antenna Relays

Distributed space-time coding (DSTC) is a cooperative scheme for wireless relay networks that achieves full diversity without channel information at the relays. In this paper, the use of maximum-ratio combining (MRC) at multiple-antenna relays in combination with DSTC is proposed. Simulation and theoretical analysis show that the new scheme outperforms the original DSTC. In some network scenarios, it can even improve the scaling of the error rate with the transmit power. Furthermore, the proposed scheme requires a shorter training interval than DSTC.

Distributed Space-Time Codes Using Constellation Rotation

Rate and diversity impose a fundamental tradeoff in wireless communication. We propose a novel distributed space-time coding (DSTC) scheme based on constellation rotation (DSTC-CR) for Amplify-and-Forward relay networks. The proposed code can achieve full-diversity or full-rate, and also offers a flexibility for a desired rate-diversity tradeoff. This code can work well with arbitrary signal constellation and any number of relays and achieve minimal-delay. Through analysis of pairwise error probability, coding design criteria, Chernoff bound, decoding strategies and optimal power allocation are provided. Simulation results show that DSTC-CR scheme outperforms diagonal DSTC (DDSTC) and distributed linear dispersion (DLD) code at high power. From the comparison with DDSTC, the DSTC-CR scheme can achieve the same information rate using a lower modulation order.

Outage analysis and diversity-multiplexing tradeoff bounds for opportunistic relaying coded cooperation and distributed space-time coding coded cooperation

In this paper, we analyze the outage probability of coded cooperation in opportunistic relaying (OR-CC) and distributed space-time coding (DSTC-CC) cooperative communication systems at arbitrary signal to noise ratios (SNRs) and number of available relays assuming Rayleigh fading channels. Furthermore, we obtain lower and upaper bounds for the diversity multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) for OR-CC and DSTC-CC schemes in the cases where the source node is/is not included in the cooperation. Simulation results confirm our analysis.

Maximum-Throughput Irregular Distributed Space-Time Code for Near-Capacity Cooperative Communications

This paper presents an irregular distributed space-time (Ir-DST) coding scheme designed for near-capacity cooperative communications where the system's effective throughput is also maximized with the aid of a joint source-and-relay mode design procedure. At the source node, a serially concatenated scheme comprising an IRregular Convolutional Code (IRCC), a recursive unity-rate code (URC), and a space-time block code (STBC) was designed for the sake of approaching the corresponding source-to-relay link capacity, where the IRCC was optimized with the aid of EXtrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts. At the relay node, another IRCC is serially concatenated with an identical STBC. Before transmitting the relayed information, the relay's IRCC is reoptimized based on EXIT chart analysis for the sake of approaching the relay channel's capacity and to maximize the relay's coding rate, which results in a maximized effective throughput. We will demonstrate that the topology of the Ir-DST system coincides with that of a distributed turbo code (DTC). At the destination node, a novel three-stage iterative decoding scheme is constructed to achieve decoding convergence to an infinitesimally low bit-error ratio (BER). Finally, our numerical results show the proficiency of our joint source-and-relay mode design procedure, demonstrating that the proposed Ir-DST coding scheme is capable of near-capacity cooperative communications and of maximizing the effective throughput.