Cooperative Multiplexing: Toward Higher Spectral Efficiency in Multi-antenna Relay Networks

TL;DR

This paper explores how cooperative relay networks can achieve higher spectral efficiency through multiplexing gains at finite SNR, challenging the traditional focus on diversity benefits.

Contribution

It introduces a new interpretation of the rate-outage tradeoff, demonstrating multiplexing gains are achievable in multi-antenna relay networks at any finite SNR.

Findings

Multiplexing gains can be obtained at finite SNR in relay networks.

Relay power gains significantly influence the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff.

Proposed protocols achieve outage probabilities close to co-located antenna systems.

Abstract

Previous work on cooperative communications has concentrated primarily on the diversity benefits of such techniques. This paper, instead, considers the multiplexing benefits of cooperative communications. First, a new interpretation on the fundamental tradeoff between the transmission rate and outage probability in multi-antenna relay networks is given. It follows that multiplexing gains can be obtained at any finite SNR, in full-duplex multi-antenna relay networks. Thus relaying can offer not only stronger link reliability, but also higher spectral efficiency. Specifically, the decode-and-forward protocol is applied and networks that have one source, one destination, and multiple relays are considered. A receive power gain at the relays, which captures the network large scale fading characteristics, is also considered. It is shown that this power gain can significantly affect the system diversity-multiplexing tradeoff for any finite SNR value. Several relaying protocols are proposed and are shown to offer nearly the same outage probability as if the transmit antennas at the source and the relay(s) were co-located, given certain SNR and receive power gains at the relays. Thus a higher multiplexing gain than that of the direct link can be obtained if the destination has more antennas than the source. Much of the analysis in the paper is valid for arbitrary channel fading statistics. These results point to a view of relay networks as a means for providing higher spectral efficiency, rather than only link reliability.