Integer Space-Time Block Codes for Practical MIMO Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces Integer Space-Time Block Codes (ICs) for MIMO systems, which use integer coefficients to reduce encoder complexity and PAPR, improving practical implementation especially in small and large MIMO channels.

Contribution

The paper proposes a new class of full-rate STBCs with integer coefficients, reducing encoder bit requirements and PAPR, and compares their advantages with existing algebraic STBCs.

Findings

Significant reduction in processor bits for small MIMO channels.

Lower PAPR values for large MIMO channels.

Advantages over traditional algebraic STBCs.

Abstract

Full-rate space-time block codes (STBCs) achieve high spectral-efficiency by transmitting linear combinations of information symbols through every transmit antenna. However, the coefficients used for the linear combinations, if not chosen carefully, results in ({\em i}) large number of processor bits for the encoder and ({\em ii}) high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) values. In this work, we propose a new class of full-rate STBCs called Integer STBCs (ICs) for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fading channels. A unique property of ICs is the presence of integer coefficients in the code structure which enables reduced numbers of processor bits for the encoder and lower PAPR values. We show that the reduction in the number of processor bits is significant for small MIMO channels, while the reduction in the PAPR is significant for large MIMO channels. We also highlight the advantages of the proposed codes in comparison with the well known full-rate algebraic STBCs.