Multiuser Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Systems Research Articles

A Block-by-Block Blind Post-FFT Multistage Beamforming Algorithm for Multiuser OFDM Systems Based on Subcarrier Averaging

Chi et al. proposed a computationally efficient fast kurtosis maximization algorithm for blind equalization of multiple-input multiple-output linear time-invariant systems. This algorithm is also an iterative batch processing algorithm and has been applied to blind source separation. This paper considers blind beamforming of multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Assuming that the channel is static within one OFDM block, a blind post-FFT multistage beamforming algorithm (MSBFA) based on subcarrier averaging is proposed. The algorithm basically comprises:( i) source (path signal) extraction using a hybrid beamforming algorithm composed of a Fourier beamformer and a kurtosis maximization beamformer, (ii) time delay estimation and compensation, (iii) classification (path-to-user association) and blind maximum ratio combining (of path signals). The designed beamformer is exactly the same for all the subcarriers, effectively utilizes multipath diversity for performance gain, and works well even in an environment with spatially correlated sources. Some simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MSBFA.

A Probabilistic Channel Quantization Scheme Based on Max-SNR Resource Allocation in Multiuser OFDM Systems

This letter discusses channel quantization problem in multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems based on maximum subchannel signal-to-noise ratio (Max-SNR) resource allocation (RA). It is assumed that subcarriers are assigned to users according to Max-SNR RA. Then, a probabilistic quantization scheme is derived to obtain the higher rate-sum capacity via equal power approximation for water-filling. Simulation results show the proposed scheme achieves a great performance gain compared to equal distance quantization in both high-SNR and low-SNR cases. However, if 5% capacity loss is allowed, two additional feedback bits are required for the low-SNR instance due to the larger approximation error.

Resource Allocation for Delay Differentiated Traffic in Multiuser OFDM Systems

Most existing work on adaptive allocation of sub- carriers and power in multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems has focused on homogeneous traffic consisting solely of either delay-constrained data (guaranteed service) or non-delay-constrained data (best-effort service). In this paper, we investigate the resource allocation problem in a heterogeneous multiuser OFDM system with both delay-constrained (DC) and non-delay-constrained (NDC) traffic. The objective is to maximize the sum-rate of all the users with NDC traffic while maintaining guaranteed rates for the users with DC traffic under a total transmit power constraint. Through our analysis we show that the optimal power allocation over subcarriers follows a multi-level water-filling principle; moreover, the valid candidates competing for each subcarrier include only one NDC user but all DC users. By converting this combinatorial problem with exponential complexity into a convex problem or showing that it can be solved in the dual domain, efficient iterative algorithms are proposed to find the optimal solutions. To further reduce the computational cost, a low-complexity suboptimal algorithm is also developed. Numerical studies are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms in terms of service outage probability, achievable transmission rate pairs for DC and NDC traffic, and multiuser diversity.

Subcarrier assignment considering path loss for multiuser OFDM systems with proportional fairness

This article studies downlink subcarrier assignment problem to maximize rate-sum capacity subject to total power and proportional rate constraints in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Previous algorithms assume that the initial power is equally distributed over all subcarriers. The presence of path loss makes the assumption not correct any more. This article proposes a novel subcarrier assignment algorithm which makes full use of path loss and rate proportionality information to improve rate-sum capacity. The proposed algorithm determines optimal initial power allocation according to path losses and rate proportionalities of different users, assigns subcarriers to users in a greedy fashion, and then exchanges subcarriers between users to obtain fairer rate distribution. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm approximately achieves double the capacity of static assignment schemes, such as fixed frequency band approach, and obtains better performance than previous subcarrier assignment algorithms in the presence of different path losses and proportional rate requirements.

OFDM 시스템을 위한 순환 지연을 사용하는 협력 다이버시티 기법

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one of the most promising technologies for high data rate wireless communications. OFDM has been adopted in wireless standards such as digital audio/video broadcasting. The combination of OFDM and cooperative diversity techniques can provide the diversity gain and/or increased capacity. In this paper, the cooperative coding using cyclic delay diversity (CDD) for multiuser OFDM systems is introduced. To improve the beneficial effects of relays`s cooperation, CDD is adopted in cooperative transmission of relays. Simulation results show the bit error rate (BER) for various consideration. The proposed scheme provides improved performance compared to delay.

Opportunistic Scheduling for OFDM Systems with Fairness Constraints

We consider the problem of downlink scheduling for multiuser orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Opportunistic scheduling exploits the time-varying, location-dependent channel conditions to achieve multiuser diversity. Previous work in this area has focused on single-channel systems. Multiuser OFDM allows multiple users to transmit simultaneously over multiple channels. In this paper, we develop a rigorous framework to study opportunistic scheduling in multiuser OFDM systems. We derive optimal opportunistic scheduling policies under three QoS/fairness constraints formultiuserOFDM systems--temporal fairness, utilitarian fairness, and minimum-performance guarantees. Our scheduler decides not only which time slot, but also which subcarrier to allocate to each user. Implementing these optimal policies involves solving a maximal bipartite matching problem at each scheduling time. To solve this problem efficiently, we apply a modified Hungarian algorithm and a simple suboptimal algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate that our schemes achieve significant improvement in system performance compared with nonopportunistic schemes.

Practical Approaches to Adaptive Resource Allocation in OFDM Systems

Whenever a communication system operates in a time-frequency dispersive radio channel, the link adaptation provides a benefit in terms of any system performance metric by employing time, frequency, and, in case of multiple users, multiuser diversities. With respect to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system, link adaptation includes bit, power, and subcarrier allocations. While the well-known water-filling principle provides the optimal solution for both margin-maximization and rate-maximization problems, implementation complexity often makes difficult its application in practical systems. This paper presents a few suboptimal (low-complexity) adaptive loading algorithms for both single- and multiuser OFDM systems. We show that the single-user system performance can be improved by suitable power loading and an algorithm based on the incomplete channel state information is derived. At the same time, the power loading in a multiuser system only slightly affects performance while the initial subcarrier allocation has a rather big impact. A number of subcarrier allocation algorithms are discussed and the best one is derived on the basis of the order statistics theory.

An Efficient Adaptive Modulation Scheme for Wireless OFDM Systems

An adaptive modulation scheme is presented for multiuser orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing systems. The aim of the scheme is to minimize the total transmit power with a constraint on the transmission rate for users, assuming knowledge of the instantaneous channel gains for all users using a combined bit-loading and subcarrier allocation algorithm. The subcarrier allocation algorithm identifies the appropriate assignment of subcarriers to the users, while the bit-loading algorithm determines the number of bits given to each subcarrier. The proposed bit-loading algorithm is derived from the geometric progression of the additional transmission power required by the subcarriers and the arithmetic-geometric means inequality. This algorithm has a simple procedure and low computational complexity. A heuristic approach is also used for the subcarrier allocation algorithm, providing a trade-off between complexity and performance. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms provide comparable performance with existing algorithms with low computational cost.

Iterative Joint Channel Estimation and Multi-User Detection for Multiple-Antenna Aided OFDM Systems

Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems have recently attracted substantial research interest. However, compared to single-input-single-output (SISO) systems, channel estimation in the MIMO scenario becomes more challenging, owing to the increased number of independent transmitter-receiver links to be estimated. In the context of the Bell layered space-time architecture (BLAST) or space division multiple access (SDMA) multi-user MIMO OFDM systems, none of the known channel estimation techniques allows the number of users to be higher than the number of receiver antennas, which is often referred to as a scenario, owing to the constraint imposed by the rank of the MIMO channel matrix. Against this background, in this paper we propose a new genetic algorithm (GA) assisted iterative joint channel estimation and multi-user detection (GA-JCEMUD) approach for multi-user MIMO SDMA-OFDM systems, which provides an effective solution to the multi-user MIMO channel estimation problem in the above-mentioned rank-deficient scenario. Furthermore, the GAs invoked in the data detection literature can only provide a hard-decision output for the forward error correction (FEC) or channel decoder, which inevitably limits the system's achievable performance. By contrast, our proposed GA is capable of providing soft outputs and hence it becomes capable of achieving an improved performance with the aid of FEC decoders. A range of simulation results are provided to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed scheme.

An Approximately MAI-Free Multiaccess OFDM System in Fast Time-Varying Channels

A new multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transceiver with preceding, called the precoded multiuser OFDM (PMU-OFDM) system, was recently introduced by Tsai et al. (2005). The PMU-OFDM system can reduce multiaccess interference (MAI) due to the carrier frequency offset (CFO) to a negligible amount by preceding the data of each user with a codeword selected from either even or odd Hadamard-Walsh codes. The performance of the PMU-OFDM system in a mobile environment, where the channel response varies within one OFDM symbol due to the Doppler effect, is evaluated in this paper. It is shown by analysis and simulation that the use of even or odd Hadamard-Walsh codewords can greatly reduce the MAI effect due to the Doppler effect as well. Generally, all Hadamard-Walsh codewords except for the all-one codeword result in considerable suppression of intercarrier interference (ICI) induced by the Doppler effect. Furthermore, we discuss codeword priority schemes to minimize ICI as much as possible. Finally, simulations results are given to demonstrate the advantage of PMU-OFDM over OFDMA with a codeword priority scheme in the Doppler environment. We show that the PMU-OFDM system with odd Hadamard-Walsh codewords outperforms a half-loaded OFDMA system in a mobile environment.

Multiuser MIMO-OFDM for Next-Generation Wireless Systems

This overview portrays the evolution of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) research. The amelioration of powerful multicarrier OFDM arrangements with multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems has numerous benefits, which are detailed in this treatise. We continue by highlighting the limitations of conventional detection and channel estimation techniques designed for multiuser MIMO OFDM systems in the so-called rank-deficient scenarios, where the number of users supported or the number of transmit antennas employed exceeds the number of receiver antennas. This is often encountered in practice, unless we limit the number of users granted access in the base station's or radio port's coverage area. Following a historical perspective on the associated design problems and their state-of-the-art solutions, the second half of this treatise details a range of classic multiuser detectors (MUDs) designed for MIMO-OFDM systems and characterizes their achievable performance. A further section aims for identifying novel cutting-edge genetic algorithm (GA)-aided detector solutions, which have found numerous applications in wireless communications in recent years. In an effort to stimulate the cross pollination of ideas across the machine learning, optimization, signal processing, and wireless communications research communities, we will review the broadly applicable principles of various GA-assisted optimization techniques, which were recently proposed also for employment in multiuser MIMO OFDM. In order to stimulate new research, we demonstrate that the family of GA-aided MUDs is capable of achieving a near-optimum performance at the cost of a significantly lower computational complexity than that imposed by their optimum maximum-likelihood (ML) MUD aided counterparts. The paper is concluded by outlining a range of future research options that may find their way into next-generation wireless systems.

Frequency Offset Compensation Scheme Using Interference Cancellation in Reverse Link of OFDM/SDMA Systems

In the reverse link of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)/space division multiple access (SDMA) systems, each receive antenna of a base station receives a multiplexed version of signals transmitted from users, where the transmitted signals have individual amounts of frequency offset. Therefore, a frequency offset compensation scheme which is different from those used in general OFDM systems is required. For this requirement, frequency offset compensation schemes using the feedback transmission from the base station to user terminals have been proposed for multiuser OFDM systems. These schemes work with good precision when the feedback information is correct and is transmitted without errors. However, when the offset information is incorrectly received at user terminals, the frequency offset is not accurately compensated for. In OFDM/SDMA systems, one user is enough for causing inter-carrier interference to all users. Therefore, a frequency offset compensation scheme without feedback transmission is sometimes preferable. In this paper, we propose a frequency offset compensation scheme without feedback transmission. To compensate for frequency offset in every transmitted signal, the multiplexed received signals must be separated into each user's component before the offset compensation. Thus, we adopt the principle of the parallel interference cancellation (PIC). By employing PIC, the received signals can be separated before the offset compensation. Thus, the frequency offset of every user's signal can be compensated for. Simulation results show the bit error rate performance of the proposed scheme attains almost the same as that of the conventional scheme using the feedback transmission without errors.

Bit-rate maximization for multiuser OFDM systems

In the downlink of multiuser OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) systems, subcarriers of one OFDM symbol can be allocated to multiple users to enable multiplexing. System performance can be enhanced by appropriate subcarrier allocation and bit-loading. In this paper, while guaranteeing a fixed BER performance, we impose a fixed transmitted power constraint on each user to achieve a fair resource allocation. Based on this condition, we propose an algorithm to maximize the sum-rate of the system. This sum-rate optimization is a discrete optimization problem which is hard to solve by conventional methods. We relax the problem into a continuous convex optimization problem so that the subcarrier allocation to each user can be determined numerically. Using the subcarrier allocation for the continuous problem, bits are then loaded to each user. The effectiveness of the proposed method is substantiated by numerical simulations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 89(1): 1–9, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecjc.20198

Blind Carrier Frequency Offset Estimation in SISO, MIMO, and Multiuser OFDM Systems

Relying on a kurtosis-type criterion, we develop a low-complexity blind carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimator for orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. We demonstrate analytically how identifiability and performance of this blind CFO estimator depend on the channel's frequency selectivity and the input distribution. We show that this approach can be applied to blind CFO estimation in multi-input multi-output and multiuser OFDM systems. The issues of channel nulls, multiuser interference, and effects of multiple antennas are addressed analytically, and tested via simulations.

Block adaptive subcarrier allocation for wireless multiuser OFDM system

In this paper, a blockwise adaptive subcarrier allocation algorithm for multiuser Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system is introduced. Assuming the knowledge of channel information for all users, the algorithm minimizes the total transmit power while satisfying the total power and users’ rate constraints. The result of simulation shows that the proposed algorithm reduces the average bit Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) by approximately 4 dB compared with OFDM-Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDM-FDMA), and supports more users in a multiuser Rayleigh fading channel. As assigning subcarriers in block, the computational complexity of the algorithm is much lower than that of the derivation of “water-filling” algorithm.

Data traffic scheduling algorithm for multiuser OFDM system with adaptive modulation considering fairness among users

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is regarded as a very promising digital modulation technique for achieving high rate transmission. However, the increasing number of wireless data users and the deployment of broadband wireless networks have brought about issues of fairness among users and system throughput. In this paper, we propose an efficient scheduling algorithm to maximize system throughput while providing a level of fairness among users for non-real-time data traffic in the downlink of a multiuser OFDM system. We establish a practical scheduling procedure to implement our scheme considering fairness among users and also formulate the resource allocation problem for rate, power, and subcarrier allocation as an integer program that maximizes system throughput. Next, we present a computationally efficient heuristic algorithm for a problem based on the Lagrangian relaxation procedure. Through the computing simulation, we show that the proposed scheme performs better than other schemes in terms of both system throughput and fairness among users.

Transmit power adaptation for multiuser OFDM systems

In this paper, we develop a transmit power adaptation method that maximizes the total data rate of multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems in a downlink transmission. We generally formulate the data rate maximization problem by allowing that a subcarrier could be shared by multiple users. The transmit power adaptation scheme is derived by solving the maximization problem via two steps: subcarrier assignment for users and power allocation for subcarriers. We have found that the data rate of a multiuser OFDM system is maximized when each subcarrier is assigned to only one user with the best channel gain for that subcarrier and the transmit power is distributed over the subcarriers by the water-filling policy. In order to reduce the computational complexity in calculating water-filling level in the proposed transmit power adaptation method, we also propose a simple method where users with the best channel gain for each subcarrier are selected and then the transmit power is equally distributed among the subcarriers. Results show that the total data rate for the proposed transmit power adaptation methods significantly increases with the number of users owing to the multiuser diversity effects and is greater than that for the conventional frequency-division multiple access (FDMA)-like transmit power adaptation schemes. Furthermore, we have found that the total data rate of the multiuser OFDM system with the proposed transmit power adaptation methods becomes even higher than the capacity of the AWGN channel when the number of users is large enough.

Multiuser OFDM with adaptive subcarrier, bit, and power allocation

Multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with adaptive multiuser subcarrier allocation and adaptive modulation is considered. Assuming knowledge of the instantaneous channel gains for all users, we propose a multiuser OFDM subcarrier, bit, and power allocation algorithm to minimize the total transmit power. This is done by assigning each user a set of subcarriers and by determining the number of bits and the transmit power level for each subcarrier. We obtain the performance of our proposed algorithm in a multiuser frequency selective fading environment for various time delay spread values and various numbers of users. The results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms multiuser OFDM systems with static time-division multiple access (TDMA) or frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) techniques which employ fixed and predetermined time-slot or subcarrier allocation schemes. We have also quantified the improvement in terms of the overall required transmit power, the bit-error rate (BER), or the area of coverage for a given outage probability.