A Hybrid MMSE and K-Best Detection Scheme for MIMO Systems

A new multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) detection scheme combining minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) detection and the K-best detection algorithm is proposed. The proposed scheme leverages the MMSE detection results to ease the demand of a large K in the conventional K-best algorithm to achieve satisfactory performance. The post-detection SNR obtained after MMSE detection is consulted to determine the symbols upon which a reduced-dimension K-best algorithm (h-best algorithm) is performed to obtain final detection results. Parameters associated with the proposed scheme are empirically chosen to make a fair comparison with the conventional K-best algorithm. Extensive Monte Carlo simulation demonstrates that the hybrid approach exhibits significant performance gain over both MMSE and K-best detection schemes.