Combined array processing and space-time turbo coded modulation for WCDMA downlink over frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channels

A combination of MIMO signal processing and single antenna channel coding or low complexity space-time coding introduced in VBLAST and its generalizations has recently gained enormous attention as a relatively simple and pragmatic signaling method for achieving high bandwidth efficiencies in systems with a large number of uncorrelated transmit and receive antennas. We introduce maximum SINR post-detection array processing for space-time coded systems and demonstrate that it offers significant performance improvements. To exploit the full benefit of multipath diversity, an alternative way of post-ordered detection in multipath fading channels is proposed and denoted as group-wise VBLAST array processing. The combination of post-ordered group-wise VBLAST array processing with recently introduced power and bandwidth efficient space-time turbo coded modulation for horizontally and vertically coded systems is shown to offer significant performance improvements as compared with low constant length space-time trellis codes.