arXiv subjects

Amine Mezghani

Publications and source records attributed to Amine Mezghani.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

On the Robustness of Deep Reinforcement Learning in IRS-Aided Wireless Communications Systems

We consider an Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS)-aided multiple-input single-output (MISO) system for downlink transmission. We compare the performance of Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) and conventional optimization methods in finding optimal phase shifts of the IRS elements to maximize the user signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio. Furthermore, we evaluate the robustness of these methods to channel impairments and changes in the system. We demonstrate numerically that DRL solutions show more robustness to noisy channels and user mobility.

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arXiv2021

Achievable Rate with Antenna Size Constraint: Shannon meets Chu and Bode

Using ideas from Chu and Bode/Fano theories, we characterize the maximum achievable rate over the single-input single-output wireless communication channels under a restriction on the antenna size at the receiver. By employing circuit-theoretic multiport models for radio communication systems, we derive the information-theoretic limits of compact antennas. We first describe an equivalent Chu's antenna circuit under the physical realizability conditions of its reflection coefficient. Such a design allows us to subsequently compute the achievable rate for a given receive antenna size thereby providing a physical bound on the system performance that we compare to the standard size-unconstrained Shannon capacity. We also determine the effective signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) which strongly depends on the antenna size and experiences an apparent finite-size performance degradation where only a fraction of Shannon capacity can be achieved. We further determine the optimal signaling bandwidth which shows that impedance matching is essential in both narrowband and broadband scenarios. We also examine the achievable rate in presence of interference showing that the size constraint is immaterial in interference-limited scenarios. Finally, our numerical results of the derived achievable rate as function of the antenna size and the SNR reveal new insights for the physically consistent design of radio systems.

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arXiv2021

Massive MIMO Precoding and Spectral Shaping with Low Resolution Phase-only DACs and Active Constellation Extension

Nonlinear precoding and pulse shaping are jointly considered in multi-user massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems with low-resolution D/A-converters (DACs) in terms of algorithmic approach as well as large system performance. Two design criteria are investigated: the mean {squared} error (MSE) with active constellation extension (ACE) and the symbol error rate (SER). Both formulations are solved based on a modified version of the generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) algorithm. Furthermore, theoretical performance results are derived based on the state evolution analysis of the GAMP algorithm. The MSE based technique is extended to jointly perform over-the-air (OTA) spectral shaping and precoding for frequency-selective channels, in which the spectral performance is characterized at the transmitter and at the receiver. Simulation and analytical results demonstrate that the MSE based approach yields the same performance as the SER based formulation in terms of uncoded SER. The analytical results provide good performance predictions up to medium SNR. Substantial improvements in detection, as well as spectral performance, are obtained from the proposed combined pulse shaping and precoding approach compared to standard linear methods.

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arXiv2021

Sparse Linear Precoders for Mitigating Nonlinearities in Massive MIMO

Dealing with nonlinear effects of the radio-frequency(RF) chain is a key issue in the realization of very large-scale multi-antenna (MIMO) systems. Achieving the remarkable gains possible with massive MIMO requires that the signal processing algorithms systematically take into account these effects. Here, we present a computationally efficient linear precoding method satisfying the requirements for low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) and low-resolution D/A-converters (DACs). The method is based on a sparse regularization of the precoding matrix and offers advantages in terms of precoded signal PAPR as well as processing complexity. Through simulation, we find that the method substantially improves conventional linear precoders.

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arXiv2021

Joint Active and Passive Beamforming Design for IRS-Assisted Multi-User MIMO Systems: A VAMP-Based Approach

This paper tackles the problem of joint active and passive beamforming optimization for an intelligent reflective surface (IRS)-assisted multi-user downlink multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system. We aim to maximize spectral efficiency of the users by minimizing the mean square error (MSE) of the received symbol. For this, a joint optimization problem is formulated under the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion. First, block coordinate descent (BCD) is used to decouple the joint optimization into two sub-optimization problems to separately find the optimal active precoder at the base station (BS) and the optimal matrix of phase shifters for the IRS. While the MMSE active precoder is obtained in a closed form, the optimal phase shifters are found iteratively using a modified version (also introduced in this paper) of the vector approximate message passing (VAMP) algorithm. We solve the joint optimization problem for two different models for IRS phase shifts. First, we determine the optimal phase matrix under a unimodular constraint on the reflection coefficients, and then under the constraint when the IRS reflection coefficients are modeled by a reactive load, thereby validating the robustness of the proposed solution. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed method using multiple channel configurations. The results validate the superiority of the proposed solution as it achieves higher throughput compared to state-of-the-art techniques.

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arXiv2020

Massive MIMO with Dense Arrays and 1-bit Data Converters

We consider wireless communication systems with compact planar arrays having densely spaced antenna elements in conjunction with one-bit analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters (ADCs/DACs). We provide closed-form expressions for the achievable rates with simple linear processing techniques for the uplink as well as the downlink scenarios while taking into account the effects of antenna mutual coupling. In the downlink case, we introduce the concept of non-radiating dithering to combat correlations of the quantization errors. Under higher antenna element density, we show that the performance of the quantized system can be made close to the ideal performance regardless of the operating signal-to-noise ratio.

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arXiv2020

Massive Unsourced Random Access Based on Uncoupled Compressive Sensing: Another Blessing of Massive MIMO

We put forward a new algorithmic solution to the massive unsourced random access (URA) problem, by leveraging the rich spatial dimensionality offered by large-scale antenna arrays. This paper makes an observation that spatial signature is key to URA in massive connectivity setups. The proposed scheme relies on a slotted transmission framework but eliminates the need for concatenated coding that was introduced in the context of the coupled compressive sensing (CCS) paradigm. Indeed, all existing works on CCS-based URA rely on an inner/outer tree-based encoder/decoder to stitch the slot-wise recovered sequences. This paper takes a different path by harnessing the nature-provided correlations between the slotwise reconstructed channels of each user in order to put together its decoded sequences. The required slot-wise channel estimates and decoded sequences are first obtained through the hybrid generalized approximate message passing (HyGAMP) algorithm which systematically accommodates the multiantenna-induced group sparsity. Then, a channel correlation-aware clustering framework based on the expectation-maximization (EM) concept is used together with the Hungarian algorithm to find the slotwise optimal assignment matrices by enforcing two clustering constraints that are very specific to the problem at hand. Stitching is then accomplished by associating the decoded sequences to their respective users according to the ensuing assignment matrices. Exhaustive computer simulations reveal that the proposed scheme can bring performance improvements, at high spectral efficiencies, as compared to a state-of-the-art technique that investigates the use of large-scale antenna arrays in the context of massive URA.

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arXiv2020

Bilinear Generalized Vector Approximate Message Passing

We introduce the bilinear generalized vector approximate message passing (BiG-VAMP) algorithm which jointly recovers two matrices U and V from their noisy product through a probabilistic observation model. BiG-VAMP provides computationally efficient approximate implementations of both max-sum and sumproduct loopy belief propagation (BP). We show how the proposed BiG-VAMP algorithm recovers different types of structured matrices and overcomes the fundamental limitations of other state-of-the-art approaches to the bilinear recovery problem, such as BiG-AMP, BAd-VAMP and LowRAMP. In essence, BiG-VAMP applies to a broader class of practical applications which involve a general form of structured matrices. For the sake of theoretical performance prediction, we also conduct a state evolution (SE) analysis of the proposed algorithm and show its consistency with the asymptotic empirical mean-squared error (MSE). Numerical results on various applications such as matrix factorization, dictionary learning, and matrix completion demonstrate unambiguously the effectiveness of the proposed BiG-VAMP algorithm and its superiority over stateof-the-art algorithms. Using the developed SE framework, we also examine (as one example) the phase transition diagrams of the matrix completion problem, thereby unveiling a low detectability region corresponding to the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime.

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arXiv2020

JCR70: A Low-Complexity Millimeter-Wave Proof-of-Concept Platform for A Fully-Digital MIMO Joint Communication-Radar

A fully-digital wideband joint communication-radar (JCR) with a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) architecture at the millimeter-wave (mmWave) band will enable high joint communication and radar performance with enhanced design flexibility. A quantized receiver with few-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) will enable a practical JCR solution with reduced power consumption for futuristic portable devices and autonomous vehicles. In this paper, we present a joint communication-radar proof-of-concept platform, named JCR70, to evaluate and demonstrate the performance of these JCR systems using real channel measurements in the 71-76 GHz band. We develop this platform by extending a mmWave communication set-up with an additional full-duplex radar receiver and by capturing the MIMO JCR channel using a moving antenna on a sliding rail. To characterize the JCR performance of our developed tested, we conduct several indoor and outdoor experiments and apply traditional as well as advanced processing algorithms on the measured data. Additionally, we compare the performance of our JCR70 platform with the INRAS Radarbook, which is a state-of-the-art automotive radar evaluation platform at 77 GHz. The results demonstrate that a quantized receiver with 2-4 bit ADCs generally performed quite close to the high-resolution ADC for a signal-to-noise ratio of up to 5 dB. Our JCR70 platform with a fully digital JCR waveform at 73 GHz and 2 GHz bandwidth achieved higher resolution capability than the Radarbook due to higher bandwidth and larger synthesized antenna aperture.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2019

FALP: Fast beam alignment in mmWave systems with low-resolution phase shifters

Millimeter wave (mmWave) systems can enable high data rates if the link between the transmitting and receiving radios is configured properly. Fast configuration of mmWave links, however, is challenging due to the use of large antenna arrays and hardware constraints. For example, a large amount of training overhead is incurred by exhaustive search-based beam alignment in typical mmWave phased arrays. In this paper, we present a framework called FALP for Fast beam Alignment with Low-resolution Phase shifters. FALP uses an efficient set of antenna weight vectors to acquire channel measurements, and allows faster beam alignment when compared to exhaustive scan. The antenna weight vectors in FALP can be realized in ultra-low power phase shifters whose resolution can be as low as one-bit. From a compressed sensing (CS) perspective, the CS matrix designed in FALP satisfies the restricted isometry property and allows CS algorithms to exploit the fast Fourier transform. The proposed framework also establishes a new connection between channel acquisition in phased arrays and magnetic resonance imaging.

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arXiv2018

MIMO Beampattern and Waveform Design with Low Resolution DACs

Digital beamforming and waveform generation techniques in MIMO radar offer enormous advantages in terms of flexibility and performance compared to conventional radar systems based on analog implementations. To allow for such fully digital design with an efficient hardware complexity, we consider the use of low resolution digital-to-analog converters (DACs) while maintaining a separate radio-frequency chain per antenna. A sum of squared residuals (SSR) formulation for the beampattern and spectral shaping problem is solved based on the Generalized Approximate Message Passing (GAMP) algorithm. Numerical results demonstrate good performance in terms of spectral shaping as well as cross-correlation properties of the different probing waveforms even with just 2-bit resolution per antenna.

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arXiv2018

Swift-Link: A compressive beam alignment algorithm for practical mmWave radios

Next generation wireless networks will exploit the large amount of spectrum available at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies. Design of mmWave systems, however, is challenging due to strict power, cost and hardware constraints at higher bandwidths. To achieve a good SNR for communication, mmWave systems use large antenna arrays. Beamforming with highly directional beams is one way to use the antennas. As the channel changes over time, the beams that maximize the SNR have to be estimated quickly to reduce the training overhead. Prior work has exploited the observation that mmWave channels are sparse to perform compressed sensing (CS) based beam alignment with few channel measurements. Most of the existing CS-based algorithms, however, assume perfect synchronization and fail in the presence of carrier frequency offset (CFO). This paper presents Swift-Link, a fast beam alignment algorithm that is robust against the offset. Swift-Link includes a novel randomized beam training sequence that minimizes the beam alignment errors due to CFO and a low-complexity algorithm that corrects these errors. Even with strict hardware constraints, our algorithm uses fewer channel measurements than comparable CS algorithms and has analytical guarantees. Swift-Link requires a small output dynamic range at the analog-to-digital converter compared to beam-scanning techniques.

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arXiv2018

Efficient Non-linear Equalization for 1-bit Quantized Cyclic Prefix-Free Massive MIMO Systems

This paper addresses the problem of data detection for a massive Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) base station which utilizes 1-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) for quantizing the uplink signal. The existing literature on quantized massive MIMO systems deals with Cyclic Prefix (CP) transmission over frequency-selective channels. In this paper, we propose a computationally efficient block processing equalizer based on the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm in CP-free transmission for 1-bit quantized systems. We investigate the optimal block length and overlapping factor in relation to the Channel Impulse Response (CIR) length based on the Bit Error-Rate (BER) performance metric. As EM is a non-linear algorithm, the optimal estimate is found iteratively depending on the initial starting point of the algorithm. Through numerical simulations we show that initializing the EM-algorithm with a Wiener-Filter (WF) estimate, which takes the underlying quantization into account, achieves superior BER-performance compared to initialization with other starting points.

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arXiv2018

The information and wave-theoretic limits of analog beamforming

The performance of broadband millimeter-wave (mmWave) RF architectures, is generally determined by mathematical concepts such as the Shannon capacity. These systems have also to obey physical laws such as the conservation of energy and the propagation laws. Taking the physical and hardware limitations into account is crucial for characterizing the actual performance of mmWave systems under certain architecture such as analog beamforming. In this context, we consider a broadband frequency dependent array model that explicitly includes incremental time shifts instead of phase shifts between the individual antennas and incorporates a physically defined radiated power. As a consequence of this model, we present a novel joint approach for designing the optimal waveform and beamforming vector for analog beamforming. Our results show that, for sufficiently large array size, the achievable rate is mainly limited by the fundamental trade-off between the analog beamforming gain and signal bandwidth.

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arXiv2018

Reconsidering Linear Transmit Signal Processing in 1-Bit Quantized Multi-User MISO Systems

In this contribution, we investigate a coarsely quantized Multi-User (MU)-Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) downlink communication system, where we assume 1-Bit Digital-to-Analog Converters (DACs) at the Base Station (BS) antennas. First, we analyze the achievable sum rate lower-bound using the Bussgang decomposition. In the presence of the non-linear quanization, our analysis indicates the potential merit of reconsidering traditional signal processing techniques in coarsely quantized systems, i.e., reconsidering transmit covariance matrices whose rank is equal to the rank of the channel. Furthermore, in the second part of this paper, we propose a linear precoder design which achieves the predicted increase in performance compared with a state of the art linear precoder design. Moreover, our linear signal processing algorithm allows for higher-order modulation schemes to be employed.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2018

Quantized Constant Envelope Precoding with PSK and QAM Signaling

Coarsely quantized massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems are gaining more interest due to their power efficiency. We present a new precoding technique to mitigate the Multi-User Interference (MUI) and the quantization distortions in a downlink Multi-User (MU) MIMO system with coarsely Quantized Constant Envelope (QCE) signals at the transmitter. The transmit signal vector is optimized for every desired received vector taking into account the QCE constraint. The optimization is based on maximizing the safety margin to the decision thresholds of the receiver constellation modulation. Simulation results show a significant gain in terms of the uncoded Bit Error Ratio (BER) compared to the existing linear precoding techniques.

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arXiv2017

Low SNR Asymptotic Rates of Vector Channels with One-Bit Outputs

We analyze the performance of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) links with one-bit output quantization in terms of achievable rates and characterize their performance loss compared to unquantized systems for general channel statistical models and general channel state information (CSI) at the receiver. One-bit ADCs are particularly suitable for large-scale millimeter wave MIMO Communications (massive MIMO) to reduce the hardware complexity. In such applications, the signal-to-noise ratio per antenna is rather low due to the propagation loss. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the performance of MIMO systems in this regime by means of information theoretical methods. Since an exact and general information-theoretic analysis is not possible, we resort to the derivation of a general asymptotic expression for the mutual information in terms of a second order expansion around zero SNR. We show that up to second order in the SNR, the mutual information of a system with two-level (sign) output signals incorporates only a power penalty factor of pi/2 (1.96 dB) compared to system with infinite resolution for all channels of practical interest with perfect or statistical CSI. An essential aspect of the derivation is that we do not rely on the common pseudo-quantization noise model.

cs.IT↗

arXiv2017

mmWave Massive MIMO with Simple RF and Appropriate DSP

There is considerable interest in the combined use of millimeter-wave (mmwave) frequencies and arrays of massive numbers of antennas (massive MIMO) for next-generation wireless communications systems. A symbiotic relationship exists between these two factors: mmwave frequencies allow for densely packed antenna arrays, and hence massive MIMO can be achieved with a small form factor; low per-antenna SNR and shadowing can be overcome with a large array gain; steering narrow beams or nulls with a large array is a good match for the line-of-sight (LOS) or near-LOS mmwave propagation environments, etc.. However, the cost and power consumption for standard implementations of massive MIMO arrays at mmwave frequencies is a significant drawback to rapid adoption and deployment. In this paper, we examine a number of possible approaches to reduce cost and power at both the basestation and user terminal, making up for it with signal processing and additional (cheap) antennas. These approaches include lowresolution Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs), wireless local oscillator distribution networks, spatial multiplexing and multistreaming instead of higher-order modulation etc.. We will examine the potential of these approaches in making mmwave massive MIMO a reality and discuss the requirements in terms of digital signal processing (DSP).

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