Bit Error Probability of Spatial Modulation over Measured Indoor Channels

• Published in: IEEE transactions on wireless communications Vol. 13; no. 3; pp. 1380 - 1387
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jiliang, Wang, Yang, Ding, Liqin, Zhang, Naitong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.03.2014; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Algorithms; Antenna measurements; Antennas; Applied sciences; average bit error probability (ABEP); Block codes; Channel models; channel sounding; Channels; Codes; Error analysis; Exact sciences and technology; Indoor; indoor environment; Information, signal and communications theory; Line of sight; line of sight (LOS); measurement; MIMO; Modulation; Modulation, demodulation; multi-input multi-output (MIMO); Multiplexing; none line of sight (NLOS); Radiocommunications; Receiving antennas; Signal and communications theory; Spatial modulation (SM); Studies; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Transfer functions; Transmission and modulation (techniques and equipments); Transmitting antennas; Wave propagation; Wireless communications; Performance evaluation; Multiplexing; Block code; Line of sight propagation; Parameter estimation; State of the art; System configuration; Quadrature amplitude modulation; Bit error rate; Spatial correlation; Overmodulation; indoor environment; measurement; Learning; Indoor installation; Channel estimation; Receiving antenna; Antenna array; MIMO system; line of sight (LOS); Binary signal; average bit error probability (ABEP); multi-input multi-output (MIMO); none line of sight (NLOS); channel sounding; Binary phase shift keying; Radiowave propagation; Quadrature phase shift keying; performance; Transmitting antenna; Signal processing; Spatial modulation (SM)
• ISSN: 1536-1276; 1558-2248
• DOI: 10.1109/TWC.2014.012814.130562

The Spatial Modulation (SM) transmission scheme boosts the spectral efficiency and achieves the multiplexing gain by activating a single transmit antenna in each time slot. Radio wave propagation characteristics determined by the environment is a decisive factor for the SM system. In this paper, we investigate the performance of the SM scheme over real-world 4×4 Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) channels measured in typical indoor scenarios. Firstly, a MIMO channel sounder is established. Based on the sounder, 15150 complex 4×4 MIMO channel matrices are measured inside a typical teaching building under both Line of Sight (LOS) and None Line of Sight (NLOS) scenarios. Secondly, by comparing the SM system over the measured channel and commonly-used channel models, we prove that both the Independently and Identically Distribute (i.i.d.) Rayleigh and the Spatial Correlation (SC) channel model are oversimplified, and that only practical experiences can yield definitive answers to the achievable real-world system performance. Thirdly, the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP) performance of the SM system is studied based on the measured data under a variety of system configurations. The study of different receive antenna array settings (4×4, 4×2 and 4×1 MIMO setups) approves the significance of combining scheme at the receiver. SM systems employing different signal constellations (Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and 16 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16QAM)) are also investigated and some interesting results are revealed. Lastly, performance assessment of SM against State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) MIMO schemes (Space-Time Block Code (STBC) and Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space-Time (V-BLAST) code) is conducted. Results show that for a 4×4 MIMO, the low-complexity SM scheme outperforms both STBC and V-BLAST.