Downlink Reference Signal Design for LTE Compatible GEO Mobile Satellite System

Reference signal (RS) is a crucial signal which is used for channel estimation and data demodulation in 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) system. However, due to the differences of channel environment, interference situation and system physical resource between multiple-beam satellite system and terrestrial system, the original downlink reference signal (DL-RS) design in LTE specifications cannot meet the satellite system demands, leading to performance degradation and waste of resource. In this paper, based on the feature of satellite channel, interference model and physical resource, we calculate the time and frequency domain interval, design the pattern of DL-RS in multiple beam satellite communication system. Furthermore, two DL-RS improvement technology: power boosting, re-transmit and combined receive scheme are mentioned. Simulation results and performance analysis prove the effectiveness of the proposed DL-RS design.