Real-time algorithms and architectures for multiuser channel estimation and detection in wireless base-station receivers

Abstract

This paper presents algorithms and architecture designs that can meet real-time requirements of multiuser channel estimation and detection in future code-division multiple-access-based wireless base-station receivers. Sophisticated algorithms proposed to implement multiuser channel estimation and detection make their real-time implementation difficult on current digital signal processor-based receivers. A maximum-likelihood based multiuser channel estimation scheme requiring matrix inversions is redesigned from an implementation perspective for a reduced complexity, iterative scheme with a simple fixed-point very large scale integration (VLSI) architecture. A reduced-complexity, bit-streaming multiuser detection algorithm that avoids the need for multishot detection is also developed for a simple, pipelined VLSI architecture. Thus, we develop real-time solutions for multiuser channel estimation and detection for third-generation wireless systems by: (1) designing the algorithms from a fixed-point implementation perspective, without significant loss in error rate performance; (2) task partitioning; and (3) designing bit-streaming fixed-point VLSI architectures that explore pipelining, parallelism, and bit-level computations to achieve real-time with minimum area overhead.