Channel Capacity of BLAST based on the Zero-Forcing criterion

In this paper, we present an asymptotical analysis of channel capacity of Bell Labs layered space-time (BLAST) architectures based on a zero-forcing (ZF) criterion in the sense of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We begin by introducing a new relationship related to multi-input multi-output (MIMO) channel capacity. We prove that diagonal Bell Labs space-time (D-BLAST) attains the lower bound for MIMO channels when interference nulling is carried out based on the ZF-criterion. An exact closed-form expression for the probability density function of the channel capacity is analyzed. Based on the asymptotic behavior of the channel capacity of each layer, closed-form expressions for the asymptotic ergodic capacity are derived for BLAST. Based on the analysis presented in this paper, we gain an insight on the channel capacity behavior for a MIMO channel. Computer simulation results have verified the validity and accuracy of the proposed analysis for a wide range of antenna array sizes