Unified multi-antenna code design for fading channels with spatio-temporal correlations

A unified framework for multiple antenna space-time coding is presented leading to a general code design criterion valid for arbitrary spatial and temporal fading correlations. This framework provides insights into the effect of each of spatial and temporal correlations on space-time code design. The single code design expression encompasses quasi-static, fast fading, multiple block fading and other general correlations in the temporal dimension as well as arbitrary rank correlations in the spatial dimension. The general coding strategy proposed consists of pre-coding a space-time code with its size determined by the rank of transmit correlation, the structure determined by the Cholesky factorization of the temporal correlation and the precoding matrix obtained from the eigenvectors of the transmit correlation.