Implementation of a High-Throughput Modified Merge Sort in MIMO Detection Systems

Wireless communication technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, and researchers have made tremendous progress in extending single-input single-output (SISO) systems to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems such as IEEE 802.11n, WiMAX, and LTE. However, a MIMO system requires a detector circuit to separate received data. To reduce the number of comparators required, the method of modified merge sort is proposed, and the results are compared with those of five sorting algorithms. This modified merge sort requires approximately 56% fewer comparators than a bitonic merge sort and approximately 46% fewer comparators than an odd-even merge sort. When implemented in a TSMC 0.18-μm process, the proposed chip demonstrates a throughput of up to 1200 Mbps at an operating frequency of 150 MHz.