Decentralized multiuser detection for time-varying multipath channels

Multiple-access interference (MAI) and time-varying multipath effects are the two most significant factors limiting the performance of code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. While multipath effects are exploited in existing CDMA systems to combat fading, they are often considered a nuisance to MAI suppression. We propose an integrated framework based on canonical multipath-Doppler coordinates that exploits channel dispersion effects for MAI suppression. The canonical coordinates are defined by a fixed basis derived from a fundamental characterization of the propagation effects. The basis corresponds to uniformly spaced multipath delays and Doppler shifts of the signaling waveform that capture the essential degrees of freedom in the received signal and eliminate the need for estimating arbitrary delays and Doppler shifts. The framework builds on the notion of active coordinates that carry the desired signal energy, facilitate maximal exploitation of channel diversity, and provide minimum-complexity MAI suppression. Progressively powerful multiuser detectors are obtained by incorporating additional inactive coordinates carrying only MAI. Signal space partitioning in terms of active/inactive coordinates provides a direct handle on controlling receiver complexity to achieve a desired level of performance. System performance is analyzed for two characteristic time scales relative to the coherence time of the channel. Adaptive receiver structures are identified that are naturally amenable to blind implementations requiring knowledge of only the spreading code of the desired user.