Exploiting full duplex for device-to-device communications in heterogeneous networks

In this article, we discuss full duplex for heterogenous networks that accommodate the coexistence of device-to-device communications. The short link distance and lower transmit power of device-to-device communications make them excellent candidates to exploit full duplex inband transmission. By incorporating power allocation for self-interference cancellation based on antenna isolation, analog cancellation, and digital cancellation, full-duplex device-to-device, FD-D2D, nodes can potentially improve spectrum efficiency in HetNets. We provide a comprehensive overview on FD-D2D communications in Het-Nets. Additionally, we identify several challenges, provide potential solutions to interference mitigation based on power control, beamforming, and resource scheduling, and further discuss applications of FD in 5G networks.