Time Frequency Localized Pulse for Delay Doppler Domain Data Transmission

Orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) is a strong candidate waveform for sixth generation wireless communication networks (6G), which can effectively handle time varying wireless channels. In this paper, we analyze the effect of fractional delay in delay Doppler (DD) domain multiplexing techniques. We develop a vector-matrix input-output relationship for the DD domain data transmission system by incorporating the effective pulse shaping filter between the transmitter and receiver along with the channel. Using this input-output relationship, we analyze the effect of the pulse shaping filter on the channel estimation and BER performance in the presence of fractional delay and uncompensated fractional timing offset (TO). For the first time, we propose the use of time-frequency localized (TFL) pulse shaping for the OTFS waveform to overcome the interference due to fractional delays. We show that our proposed TFL-OTFS outperforms the widely used raised cosine pulse-shaped OTFS (RC-OTFS) in the presence of fractional delays. Additionally, TFL-OTFS also shows very high robustness against uncompensated fractional TO, compared to RC-OTFS.

Delay-Doppler Multiplexing With Global Filtering

This paper proposes a novel modulation technique called globally filtered orthogonal time frequency space (GF-OTFS) which integrates single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA)-based delay-Doppler representation with universal filtered multi-carrier (UFMC) modulation. Our proposed technique first arranges the frequency-Doppler bins of an orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) frame in adjacency using SC-FDMA and then applies universal filtering to the neighboring signals to mitigate inter-Doppler interference (IDI). By employing this approach, GF-OTFS achieves superior spectral containment and effectively mitigates interference caused by Doppler shifts in dynamic, time-varying channels. This paper also presents a detailed mathematical formulation of the proposed modulation technique. Furthermore, a comprehensive performance evaluation is conducted, comparing our GF-OTFS approach to state-of-the-art techniques, including Doppler-resilient UFMC (DR-UFMC) and receiver windowed OTFS (RW-OTFS). Key performance metrics, such as bit error rate (BER) and out-of-band (OOB) emissions, as well as the Doppler spread reduction are analyzed to assess the effectiveness of each approach. The results indicate that our proposed technique achieves comparable BER performance while significantly improving spectral containment.

Windowed Dictionary Design for Delay-Aware OMP Channel Estimation under Fractional Doppler

Delay-Doppler (DD) signal processing has emerged as a powerful tool for analyzing multipath and time-varying channel effects. Due to the inherent sparsity of the wireless channel in the DD domain, compressed sensing (CS) based techniques, such as orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP), are commonly used for channel estimation. However, many of these methods assume integer Doppler shifts, which can lead to performance degradation in the presence of fractional Doppler. In this paper, we propose a windowed dictionary design technique while we develop a delay-aware orthogonal matching pursuit (DA-OMP) algorithm that mitigates the impact of fractional Doppler shifts on DD domain channel estimation. First, we apply receiver windowing to reduce the correlation between the columns of our proposed dictionary matrix. Second, we introduce a delay-aware interference block to quantify the interference caused by fractional Doppler. This approach removes the need for a pre-determined stopping criterion, which is typically based on the number of propagation paths, in conventional OMP algorithm. Our simulation results confirm the effective performance of our proposed DA-OMP algorithm using the proposed windowed dictionary in terms of normalized mean square error (NMSE) of the channel estimate. In particular, our proposed DA-OMP algorithm demonstrates substantial gains compared to standard OMP algorithm in terms of channel estimation NMSE with and without windowed dictionary.

Reduced Overhead Channel Estimation for OTFS With Split Pilot

Orthogonal time frequency space modulation (OTFS) is currently one of the most robust modulation techniques for high Doppler channels. However, to reap the benefits of OTFS, an accurate channel estimation is crucial. To this mean, the widely used embedded pilot structures use twice the channel length size as a delay guard to avoid interference between the pilot and data symbols. Hence, incurring a large spectral efficiency loss, especially in wideband systems where the channel length is large. To reduce the pilot overhead, we propose a novel split pilot structure with two impulse pilots. With two pilots, we can use one to cancel the other, thus, capable of removing the pilot interference over data. To remove the data interference from the pilot, we also propose an iterative joint channel estimation and detection technique tailored to the proposed split pilot structure. With the interference caused by the delay spread solved, we reduce the number of delay guards in our system by half, significantly improving the spectral efficiency. To corroborate our claims, we numerically demonstrate that our proposed method can achieve performance levels comparable to that of the full-guard method while using only half the delay guard. Additionally, we show that our proposed iterative channel estimating technique has a fast convergence speed, requiring only two iterations.

Synchronization for Multiuser Uplink OTFS

In this paper, we propose time and frequency synchronization techniques for the uplink of multiuser OTFS (MU-OTFS) in high-mobility scenarios. We introduce a spectrally efficient and practical pilot pattern where each user utilizes a pilot with a cyclic prefix (PCP) within a shared pilot region on the delay-Doppler plane. At the receiver, a bank of filters is deployed to separate the users' signals and accurately estimate their timing offsets (TOs) and carrier frequency offsets (CFOs). Our technique employs a threshold-based approach that provides precise TO estimates. Our proposed CFO estimation technique reduces the multi-dimensional maximum likelihood (ML) search problem into multiple one-dimensional search problems. Furthermore, we apply the Chebyshev polynomials of the first kind basis expansion model (CPF-BEM) to effectively handle the time-variations of the channel in obtaining the CFO estimates for all the users. Finally, we numerically investigate the error performance of our proposed synchronization technique in high mobility scenarios for the MU-OTFS uplink. Our simulation results confirm the efficacy of the proposed technique in estimating the TOs and CFOs which also leads to an improved channel estimation performance.

Exploring the Impact of HAPS-RIS on UAV-based Networks: A Novel Architectural Approach

In this paper, we propose a network architecture where two types of aerial infrastructures together with a ground station provide connectivity to a remote area. A high altitude platform station (HAPS) is equipped with reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), so-called HAPS-RIS, to be exploited to assist the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based wireless networks. A key challenge in such networks is the restricted number of UAVs, which limits full coverage and leaves some users unsupported. To tackle this issue, we propose a hierarchical bilevel optimization framework including a leader and a follower problem. The users served by HAPS-RIS are in a zone called HAPS-RIS zone and the users served by the UAVs are in another zone called UAV zone. In the leader problem, the goal is to establish the zone boundary that maximizes the number of users covered by HAPS-RIS while ensuring that users in this zone meet their rate requirements. This is achieved through an algorithm that integrates RIS clustering, subcarrier allocation, and zone determination. The follower problem focuses on minimizing the number of UAVs required, ensuring that the rate requirements of the users in the UAV zone are met. This is addressed using an algorithm that employs k-means clustering and subcarrier allocation. Our study reveals that increasing the number of RIS elements significantly decreases the number of required UAVs.

RIS-Assisted OTFS Communications: Phase Configuration via Received Energy Maximization

In this paper, we explore the integration of two revolutionary technologies, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) and orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation, to enhance high-speed wireless communications. We introduce a novel phase shift design algorithm for RIS-assisted OTFS, optimizing energy reception and channel gain in dynamic environments. The study evaluates the proposed approach in a downlink scenario, demonstrating significant performance improvements compared to benchmark schemes in the literature, particularly in terms of bit error rate (BER). Our results showcase the potential of RIS to enhance the system's performance. Specifically, our proposed phase shift design technique outperforms the benchmark solutions by over 4 dB. Furthermore, even greater gains can be obtained as the number of RIS elements increases.

SC-FDMA as a Delay-Doppler Domain Modulation Technique

This paper compares orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) modulation and single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA). It shows that these are equivalent except for a set of linear phase shifts, applied to the transmit/receive data symbols, which can be absorbed into the channel. Through mathematical and numerical analysis, it is confirmed that SC-FDMA is in fact a delay-Doppler domain multiplexing technique that can achieve the same performance gains as those of OTFS in time-varying wireless environments. This is a promising result as SC-FDMA is already a part of the current wireless standards. The derivations in this paper also shed light on the time-frequency resources used by the delay-Doppler domain data symbols with the fine granularity of delay and Doppler spacings. While comparing the detection performance of the two waveforms, a timing offset (TO) estimation technique with orders of magnitude higher accuracy than the existing solutions in the literature is proposed. From multiple access viewpoint, the underlying tile structures in the time-frequency domain for OTFS and SC-FDMA are discussed. Finally, multiuser input-output relationships for both waveforms in the uplink are derived.

A Unified Framework for Pulse-Shaping on Delay-Doppler Plane

Delay-Doppler multiplexing has recently stirred a great deal of attention in research community. While multiple studies have investigated pulse-shaping aspects of this technology, it is challenging to identify the relationships between different pulse-shaping techniques and their properties. Hence, in this paper, we classify these techniques into two types, namely, circular and linear pulse-shaping. This paves the way towards the development of a unified framework that brings deep insights into the properties, similarities, and distinctions of different pulse-shaping techniques. This framework reveals that the recently emerged waveform orthogonal delay-Doppler multiplexing (ODDM) is a linear pulse-shaping technique with an interesting staircase spectral behaviour. Using this framework, we derive a generalized input-output relationship that captures the influence of pulse-shaping on the effective channel. We also introduce a unified modem for delay-Doppler plane pulse-shaping that leads to the proposal of fast convolution based low-complexity structures. Based on our complexity analysis, the proposed modem structures are substantially simpler than the existing ones in the literature. Furthermore, we propose effective techniques that not only reduce the out-of-band (OOB) emissions of circularly pulse-shaped signals but also improve the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of both circular and linear pulse-shaping techniques. Finally, we extensively compare different pulse-shaping techniques using various performance metrics.

Downlink Transmission in FBMC-based Massive MIMO with Co-located and Distributed Antennas

This paper introduces a practical precoding method for the downlink of Filter Bank Multicarrier-based (FBMC-based) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The proposed method comprises a two-stage precoder, consisting of a fractionally spaced prefilter (FSP) per subcarrier to equalize the channel across each subcarrier band. This is followed by a conventional precoder that concentrates the signals of different users at their spatial locations, ensuring each user receives only the intended information. In practical scenarios, a perfect channel reciprocity may not hold due to radio chain mismatches in the uplink and downlink. Moreover, the channel state information (CSI) may not be perfectly known at the base station. To address these issues, we theoretically analyze the performance of the proposed precoder in presence of imperfect CSI and channel reciprocity calibration errors. Our investigation covers both co-located (cell-based) and cell-free massive MIMO cases. In the cell-free massive MIMO setup, we propose an access point selection method based on the received SINRs of different users in the uplink. Finally, we conduct numerical evaluations to assess the performance of the proposed precoder. Our results demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed precoder when compared with the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) method as a benchmark.