High rate space-time codes for millimeter-wave systems with reconfigurable antennas

In this paper, we propose a high-rate space-time block code (STBC) for millimeter-wave wireless communication systems that are equipped with reconfigurable multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas. We assume that each reconfigurable antenna element has the capability of forming its beam and can independently change the characteristics of its radiation pattern¹. We exploit this feature of the antenna elements to construct the proposed space-time block code where each coded symbol is sent over independent beams. As a result, the received coded symbols at different receive antennas will have different power levels, a desired property that can be used in data detection. We show that the proposed code achieves a coding rate of two and requires a low-complexity maximum likelihood (ML) detector. We carry out computer simulations that demonstrate the performance of the proposed code and shows its superiority in compared to previous rate-2 STBC counterparts. We also comment on the generalization of the proposed STBC for higher MIMO dimensions.