Optimal Multiuser Transmit Beamforming: A Difficult Problem with a Simple Solution Structure [Lecture Notes]

Transmit beamforming is a versatile technique for signal transmission from an array of antennas to one or multiple users [1]. In wireless communications, the goal is to increase the signal power at the intended user and reduce interference to nonintended users. A high signal power is achieved by transmitting the same data signal from all antennas but with different amplitudes and phases, such that the signal components add coherently at the user. Low interference is accomplished by making the signal components add destructively at nonintended users. This corresponds mathematically to designing beamforming vectors (that describe the amplitudes and phases) to have large inner products with the vectors describing the intended channels and small inner products with nonintended user channels.