Blind equalization for an application of unitary space-time modulation in ISI channels

Transmit diversity schemes have gained attention due to the promise of increased capacity and improved performance. Among these schemes, unitary space-time modulation and differentially encoded unitary space-time modulation allow for simple noncoherent decoding for flat-fading channels. In this paper, a new blind equalization algorithm for these transmission schemes in intersymbol interference (ISI) channels is proposed. A matrix-type constant modulus algorithm that exploits the unitary structure of the space-time codes is developed. The equalizer is paired with a noncoherent decoder, resulting in a completely blind, low-complexity method for decoding in the presence of ISI. A noiseless convergence analysis is conducted and verified via simulation in both noiseless and noisy cases. The performance of the overall system is evaluated via simulation and semi-analytically, and the achieved performance is between that of the ideal zero-forcing and the minimum-mean squared-error equalizers.