Multi User MIMO Communication: Basic Aspects, Benefits and Challenges

Abstract

The explosive growth of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems has permitted for high data rate and a wide variety of applications. Some of the technologies which rely on these systems are IEEE 802.11, Third Generation (3G) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) ones. Recent advances in wireless communication systems have contributed to the design of multi-user scenarios with MIMO communication. These communication systems are referred as multi-user MIMOs. Such systems are intended for the development of new generations of wireless mobile radio systems for future cellular radio standards. This chapter provides an insight into multi-user MIMO systems. We firstly present some of the main aspects of the MIMO communication. We introduce the basic concepts of MIMO communication as well as MIMO channel modeling. Thereafter, we evaluate the MIMO system performances. Then, we concentrate our analysis on the multi-user MIMO systems and we provide the reader a conceptual understanding with the multi-user MIMO technology. To do so, we present the communication system model for such emerging technology and we give some examples which describe the recent advances for multi-user MIMO systems. Finally, we introduce linear precoding techniques which could be exploited in multi-user MIMO systems in order to suppress inter-user interference.