Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology is one of the key enablers in the fifth generation mobile communications (5G), in order to accommodate growing traffic demands and to utilize higher super high frequency (SHF) and extremely high frequency (EHF) bands. In the paper, we propose a novel transmit precoding named “nonlinear block multi-diagonalization (NL-BMD) precoding” for multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) downlink toward 5G. Our NL-BMD precoding strategy is composed of two essential techniques: block multi-diagonalization (BMD) and adjacent inter-user interference pre-cancellation (IUI-PC). First, as an extension of the conventional block diagonalization (BD) method, the linear BMD precoder for the desired user is computed to incorporate a predetermined number of interfering users, in order to ensure extra degrees of freedom at the transmit array even after null steering. Additionally, adjacent IUI-PC, as a nonlinear operation, is introduced to manage the residual interference partially allowed in BMD computation, with effectively-reduced numerical complexity. It is revealed through computer simulations that the proposed NL-BMD precoding yields up to 67% performance improvement in average sum-rate spectral efficiency and enables large-capacity transmission regardless of the user distribution, compared with the conventional BD precoding.

This paper proposes non-coherent multiple-input multi-ple-output (MIMO) communication systems employing per transmit antenna differential mapping (PADM), which generates an independent differentially encoded sequence for each of the multiple transmit antennas by means of space-time coding and mapping. At a receiver, the proposed PADM employs adaptive maximum-likelihood detection (MLD). The features of PADM are as follows: 1) it has excellent tracking performance for fast time-varying fading channels, because it can detect transmitted data without needing channel state information (CSI); 2) it can be applied not only to transmit diversity (TD) but also to spatial multiplexing (SM). In this paper, we analyze the adaptive MLD based on pseudo matrix inversion and derive its metric for data detection. In order to satisfy requirements on multiple transmitted sequences for the adaptive MLD, this paper proposes a mapping rule for PADM. Next, this paper describes a receiver structure based on per-survivor processing (PSP), which can drastically reduce the complexity of adaptive MLD. Finally, computer simulations confirm that the proposed non-coherent MIMO communication systems employing PADM have excellent tracking capability for TD and SM on fast time-varying fading channels.

This paper proposes a co-channel interference cancellation method for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communication systems. Maximum-likelihood multi-user detection (ML-MUD), which is one of the co-channel interference cancellation methods at a receiver side, has excellent bit error rate (BER) performance. However, computational complexity of the ML-MUD is prohibitive, because the ML-MUD must search for the most probable symbol vector from all candidates of the transmitted signals. We apply sphere decoding (SD) to the ML-MUD in order to reduce the computational complexity of the ML-MUD, and moreover we propose a modified version of the SD suitable for the ML-MUD. The proposed method extracts desired signal components from a received signal vector and a channel matrix decomposed the upper triangular form, and then performs the SD to the low dimensional model in order to detect the transmitted signals of the desired user. Computer simulation confirms that the proposed method can suppress the undesired signals and detect the desired signals, offering significant reduction of the computational complexity of the conventional method.

To improve the quality of wireless communication, transmit/receive diversity techniques in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system have been investigated vigorously. In this paper, we consider an asymmetric MIMO orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) system, in which the number of transmit antennas is larger than that of receive antennas. In this system, there is a need to achieve the high quality of communication in both low and high mobility scenarios by a single transmit diversity scheme. Recently, as for the advanced diversity schemes based on space time block coding (STBC)/space frequency block coding (SFBC), STBC/STBC-phase shift diversity (PSD) and SFBC-frequency switched transmit diversity (FSTD) have been proposed. However, in these schemes, it is possible that time diversity gain can not be sufficiently obtained especially in the low mobility scenario. Therefore, in this paper, the joint use of grouped phase rotation in time/frequency domain and STBC (GPR-STBC) is proposed to get the larger channel coding gains than other schemes. In this paper, we evaluate the average bit error rate (BER) performance by computer simulation in a comparison with the conventional transmit diversity schemes and discuss the relationship from the viewpoints of BER performance and computational complexity.

This paper proposes a novel channel estimation method for iterative equalization in MIMO systems. The proposed method incorporates co-channel interference (CCI) cancellation in the channel estimator and the channel estimation is successively performed with respect to each stream. Accuracy of channel estimation holds the key to be successfully converged the iterative equalization and decoding process. Although the channel estimates can be re-estimated by means of LS (Least Square) channel estimation using tentative decisions obtained in the iterative process, its performance is severely limited in a MIMO system because of erroneous decisions and ill-conditioned channel estimation matrix. The proposed method can suppress the above effects by means of CCI cancellation and successive channel estimation. Computer simulation confirms that the proposed channel estimation method can accurately estimate the channel, and the receiver with iterative equalization and the proposed method achieves excellent decoding performance in a MIMO-SM system.

This paper proposes a frequency-domain equalizer (FEQ) which utilizes not only guard interval but also redundancy in the frequency domain to eliminate inter-symbol and inter-carrier interferences. The proposed FEQ employs the hybrid criterion, i.e., the zero-forcing (ZF) criterion for compensating desired subcarriers and the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion for suppressing interference. The proposed Hybrid-FEQ achieves a good equalization performance, because it can suppress the noise enhancement caused by the ZF criterion with relatively small computational complexity exploiting soft-decision forward error correction (FEC). In this paper, we show its equalization performance and complexity compared with the conventional FEQs.

As the demand for higher transmission rates and spectral efficiency is steadily increasing, the research and development of novel mobile communication systems has gained momentum. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive survey of research and development activities on fifth generation mobile communication systems in Japan. We try to survey a vast area of wireless communication systems and the developments that led to future 5G systems.

In order to meet various requirements for the 5th generation mobile communication, a high SHF wideband massive-MIMO system has been widely studied which offers wide system bandwidth and high spectral efficiency. A hybrid beamforming configuration which combines analog beamforming by APAA (Active Phased Array Antenna) and digital MIMO signal processing is one of the promising approaches for reducing the complexity and power consumption of the high SHF wideband massive-MIMO system. In order to realize the hybrid beamforming configuration in high SHF band, small size, low power consumption and precise beam forming over the wide-band frequency range are strongly required for RF frontend which constitutes analog beam former. In this paper, a compact RF frontend module for high SHF wideband 5G small cell base station is proposed. This RF frontend module is prototyped. Various key components of the RF frontend module are fabricated in 15GHz band, and measured results show that high RF performances are able to meet the requirements of RF frontend.

A diversity strategy is efficient to reduce the fluctuation of communication quality caused by fading. In order to further maintain the communication quality and improve the communication capacity, this paper proposes a two-dimensional diversity approach by serially-concatenating spectral precoding and power normalized-differential space time block coding (PN-DSTBC). Spectral precoding is able to take benefit from a frequency diversity effect without loss in spectral efficiency. In addition, PN-DSTBC is robust against serious phase noise in an extremely high frequency (EHF) band by exploiting a spatial diversity effect. However, there is a problem that a naive concatenation degrades the performance due to the imbalance of equivalent noise variances over transmit frequencies. Thus, we examine an equalized PN-DSTBC decoder as a modified approach to uniform equivalent noise variances over frequencies. The performance evaluation using computer simulations shows that the proposed modified approach yields the performance improvement at any modulation schemes and at any number of transmit frequencies. Furthermore, in the case of 64QAM and two transmit frequencies, the performance gain of the modified approach is 4dB larger than that of PN-DSTBC only at uncoded BER=10-4.

This paper discusses a generalized concept of multiple-symbol differential detection (MDD) and analytically derives weight parameters based on channel prediction for MDD on fast time-varying channels. At first, this paper shows that adaptive maximum-likelihood sequence estimation employing per-survivor processing (PSP-MLSE) with a single channel tap is similar concept to MDD. Next, the weight parameters for MDD are derived according to the channel estimation of PSP-MLSE based on a high order channel prediction. Finally, computer simulation confirms that MDD with the analytically derived parameters mitigates floor of bit error rate (BER) on fast time-varying fading channels without channel state information.

This paper proposes a likelihood estimation method for reduced-complexity maximum-likelihood (ML) detectors in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) spatial-multiplexing (SM) system. Reduced-complexity ML detectors, e.g., Sphere Decoder (SD) and QR decomposition (QRD)-M algorithm, are very promising as MIMO detectors because they can estimate the ML or a quasi-ML symbol with very low computational complexity. However, they may lose likelihood information about signal vectors having the opposite bit to the hard decision and bit error rate performance of the reduced-complexity ML detectors are inferior to that of the ML detector when soft-decision decoding is employed. This paper proposes a simple estimation method of the lost likelihood information suitable for the reduced-complexity ML detectors. The proposed likelihood estimation method is applicable to any reduced-complexity ML detectors and produces accurate soft-decision bits. Computer simulation confirms that the proposed method provides excellent decoding performance, keeping the advantage of low computational cost of the reduced-complexity ML detectors.