Preview

Journal of the Russian Universities. Radioelectronics

Advanced search

Application of an Iterative Soft V-BLAST Detector for Spatial Diversity in Adaptive MIMO-OFDM Systems

https://doi.org/10.32603/1993-8985-2026-29-3-6-21

Abstract

Introduction. Conventional implementations of adaptive MIMO-OFDM make suboptimal use of computational resources, as they require parallel execution of distinct algorithmic architectures: Space-Time Block Coding (STBC) for transmission reliability and spatial multiplexing for increased throughput. Consequently, the algorithmic development of a unified signal-processing architecture remains an open problem.
Aim. This study develops and evaluates a unified adaptive MIMO-OFDM architecture that eliminates dedicated hardware STBC encoders from the transmit chain. This is achieved by compensating for the loss of orthogonality through an iterative receiver with soft interference cancellation while maintaining stable channel adaptation.
Materials and methods. The proposed algorithm performs iterative soft-information exchange between a Soft V-BLAST detector and a Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) decoder. Its performance was evaluated through computer simulation against established reference schemes. To assess operability under non-stationary conditions, a link-adaptation algorithm for the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) was implemented using the block-error-rate criterion.
Results. The proposed iterative receiver achieves BER performance comparable to that of conventional STBC schemes within two iterations, without employing orthogonal transmit coding. Integrating the detector into the adaptation loop enables dynamic maintenance of a target error rate, effectively trading the diversity gain for increased channel throughput.
Conclusion. The proposed unified architecture enables software-defined adjustment of the transmission strategy from maximum reliability to maximum spectral efficiency within a single algorithmic core, thereby minimizing computational and logic-resource overhead in transceiver implementation.

About the Authors

Q. C. Pham
The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications
Russian Federation

Quyen Cong Pham, Specialist in Special radio engineering systems (2024, Military Order of Zhukov University of Radio Electronics (Cherepovets)), Postgraduate student 

22, Bolshevikov Ave., Saint Petersburg 193232



E. I. Glushankov
The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications
Russian Federation

Evgeny I. Glushankov, Dr Sci. (Eng.) (1991), Professor (1994), Professor of the Department of Radio Engineering

22, Bolshevikov Ave., Saint Petersburg 193232



References

1. Bakulin M. G., Kreyndelin V. B., Pankratov D. Yu. Application of MIMO Technology in Modern Wireless Communication Systems of Different Generations. T-Comm. 2021, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 4–12. (In Russ.) doi: 10.36724/2072-8735-2021-15-4-4-12

2. Heath R. W., Paulraj A. J. Switching Between Diversity and Multiplexing in MIMO Systems. IEEE Transactions on Communications. 2005, vol. 53, iss. 6, pp. 962–968. doi: 10.1109/TCOMM.2005.849774

3. Forenza A., Pandharipande A., Kim H., Heath R. W. Adaptive MIMO Transmission Scheme: Exploiting the Spatial Selectivity of Wireless Channels. IEEE 61st Vehicular Technology Conf., Stockholm, Sweden, 30 May–01 June 2005. IEEE, 2005, pp. 3188–3192. doi: 10.1109/VETECS.2005.1543936

4. Glushankov E. I., Pham C. Q. Adaptive Algorithm for Selecting Spatial Diversity and Multiplexing Modes in MIMO-OFDM systems. Electrosvyaz. 2025, no. 9, pp. 91–102. (In Russ.) doi: 10.34832/ELSV.2025.71.9.009

5. Vlasov V. A. OFDM in Modern Communication Technologies. T-Comm. 2011, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 56–59. (In Russ.)

6. Pham C. Q., Glushankov E. I. Investigation of diversity reception methods in radio channels with fading. Modeling, Optimization and Information Technology. 2025, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 1–13. (In Russ.) doi: 10.26102/2310-6018/2025.50.3.002

7. Rana R. C., Rathod J. M. Performance Analysis of Different Channel Estimation Techniques with Different Modulation for VBLAST MMSE MIMO-OFDM System. Intern. Conf. on Wireless Communications, Signal Processing and Networking (WiSPNET), Chennai, India. 23–25 March 2016. IEEE, 2016, pp. 236–239. doi: 10.1109/WiSPNET.2016.7566127

8. Choi W. J., Cheong K. W., Cioffi J. M. Iterative Soft Interference Cancellation for Multiple Antenna Systems. IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conf., Chicago, USA, 23–28 Sept. 2000. IEEE, 2000, vol. 1, pp. 304–309. doi: 10.1109/WCNC.2000.904647

9. Sellathurai M., Haykin S. Turbo-BLAST for Wireless Communications: Theory and Experiments. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing. 2002, vol. 50, iss. 10, pp. 2538–2546. doi: 10.1109/TSP.2002.803327

10. Xiaodong W., Poor H. Iterative (turbo) soft interference cancellation and decoding for coded CDMA // IEEE Transactions on Communications. 1999, vol. 47, no. 7, pp. 1046–1061. doi: 10.1109/26.774855

11. Sy M. Demystifying 5G Polar and LDPC Codes: A Comprehensive Review and Foundations. Available at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2502.11053v3 (accessed: 10.01.2026).

12. Tuchler M., Singer A. C., Koetter R. Minimum Mean Squared Error Equalization Using a Priori Information. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing. 2002, vol. 50, iss. 3, pp. 673–683. doi: 10.1109/78.984761

13. Matthe M., Zhang D., Fettweis G. Iterative Detection using MMSE-PIC Demapping for MIMOGFDM Systems. Europ. Wireless 2016; 22th Europ. Wireless Conf., Oulu, Finland, 18–20 May 2016. University of Oulu, 2016, pp. 1–7.

14. Hagenauer J., Offer E., Papke L. Iterative Decoding of Binary Block And Convolutional Codes. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory. 1996, vol. 42, iss. 2, pp. 429–445. doi: 10.1109/18.485714

15. Durán A., Toril M., Ruiz F., Mendo A. SelfOptimization Algorithm for Outer Loop Link Adaptation in LTE. IEEE Communications Let. 2015, vol. 19, iss. 11, pp. 2005–2008. doi: 10.1109/LCOMM.2015.2477084

16. Pham C. Q., Glushankov E. I. Research and Development of Signal Processing Algorithms in MIMO Systems Using Space-Time Codes. Proc. of Telecom. Universities. 2025, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 59–70. doi: 10.31854/1813-324X-2025-11-3-59-70


Review

For citations:


Pham Q., Glushankov E.I. Application of an Iterative Soft V-BLAST Detector for Spatial Diversity in Adaptive MIMO-OFDM Systems. Journal of the Russian Universities. Radioelectronics. 2026;29(3):6-21. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32603/1993-8985-2026-29-3-6-21

Views: 109

JATS XML


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 1993-8985 (Print)
ISSN 2658-4794 (Online)