Blind multiuser detection in uplink CDMA with multipath fading: a sequential EM approach

We consider joint channel estimation and data detection in uplink asynchronous code-division multiple-access systems employing aperiodic (long) spreading sequences in the presence of unknown multipath fading. Since maximum-likelihood (ML) sequence estimation is too complex to perform, multiuser receivers are proposed based on the sequential expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. With the prior knowledge of only the signature waveforms, the delays and the second-order statistics of the fading channel, the receivers sequentially estimate the channel using the sequential EM algorithm. Moreover, the snapshot estimates of each path are tracked by linear minimum mean-squared error filters. The user data are detected by a ML sequence detector, given the channel estimates. The proposed receivers that use the exact expressions have a computational complexity O(2^K) per bit, where K is the number of users. Using the EM algorithm, we derive low-complexity approximations which have a computational complexity of O(K²) per bit. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed receivers offer substantial performance gains over conventional pilot-symbol-assisted techniques and achieve a performance close to the known channel bounds. Furthermore, the proposed receivers even outperform the single-user RAKE receiver with Nyquist pilot-insertion rate in a single-user environment.