IQ Imbalance in Multiuser Systems: Channel Estimation and Compensation
Journal article, 2016

In this paper, we consider the uplink of a single-cell multi-user single-input multiple-output (MU-SIMO) system with in-phase and quadrature-phase imbalance (IQI). Particularly, we investigate the effect of receive (RX) IQI on the performance of MU-SIMO systems with large antenna arrays employing maximum-ratio combining (MRC) receivers. In order to study how IQI affects channel estimation, we derive a new channel estimator for the IQI-impaired model and show that the higher the value of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) the higher the impact of IQI on the spectral efficiency (SE) of MRC receivers. Moreover, a novel pilot-based joint estimator of the augmented MIMO channel matrix and IQI coefficients is described and then, a low-complexity IQI compensation scheme is proposed which is based on the IQI coefficients' estimation and it is independent of the channel gain. The performance of the proposed compensation scheme is analytically evaluated by deriving a tractable approximation of the ergodic SE assuming transmission over Rayleigh fading channels with large-scale fading. Furthermore, we investigate how many MSs should be scheduled in massive MIMO systems with IQI and show that the highest SE loss occurs at the optimal operating point. Finally, by deriving asymptotic power scaling laws, and proving that the SE loss due to IQI is asymptotically independent of the number of BS antennas, we show that massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is resilient to the effect of RX IQI.

Channel estimation

spectral efficiency

I/Q imbalance

massive MIMO

Author

Nikolaos Kolomvakis

Chalmers, Signals and Systems, Signal Processing and Biomedical Engineering

Michail Matthaiou

Queen's University Belfast

Mikael Coldrey

Chalmers, Signals and Systems, Signal Processing and Biomedical Engineering

IEEE Transactions on Communications

0090-6778 (ISSN) 15580857 (eISSN)

Vol. 64 7 3039-3051 7458826

Areas of Advance

Information and Communication Technology

Subject Categories

Communication Systems

Signal Processing

DOI

10.1109/TCOMM.2016.2558186

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4/5/2022 6