Correlation-based cell search and measurement for LTE and LTE-A

Quick detection and accurate measurement of multiple cells surrounding the user equipment (UE) are essential to ensure the mobility and QoS of end users. In LTE and LTE-A, multiple cells are often time synchronized or quasi-synchronized so that weak cells “eclipsed” by strong interfering cells are difficult to detect. In this study, we present a novel neighbor cell search and measurement method in which cross-correlation (e.g. of synchronization signals) is explicitly exploited. The basic idea is that the cell detection metric is modified according to the cross-correlation between the interfering cell and the cell to be detected and/or the signal power of the interfering cells such that the impact of the interferer is properly suppressed. Analysis and simulations show that the proposed method is simple to implement and robust against parameter mismatch, channel variation and RF impairments. Excellent results are obtained, especially in detecting the weak “eclipsed” cells.