Combined interference cancellation and maximum likelihood decoding of space-time block codes

Abstract

Block-encoded transmissions of a multi-antenna terminal unit are effectively detected in the presence of co-channel interfering transmissions from other multi-antenna terminal units, when the base station has a plurality of antennas, and interference cancellation is combined with maximum likelihood decoding. The signals received in one base station antenna are employed in processing the signals received in a second base station antenna so as to cancel the signals of one terminal unit, while decoding the signals transmitted by the other terminal unit. Zero-forcing and MMSE approaches are presented. In another embodiment of this invention the basic decoding approach is used to obtain an initial estimate for the symbols from each terminal. Assuming that the signals of the first terminal unit has been decoded correctly, the receiver employs this initial decoded signal of the first terminal unit to cancel their contribution to the signals received at the base station antennas while decoding the signals of the second terminal unit. This process is then repeated assuming that the signals of the second terminal unit has been decoded correctly, the receiver employs this initial decoded signal of the second terminal unit to cancel their contribution to the signals received at the base station antennas while decoding the signals of the first terminal unit. The above disclosed techniques are viable for any number K of terminal units concurrently transmitting over a given channel, where each terminal unit is using a space-time block code with N transmit antennas, and a base station has at least K receive antennas.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.