Layered space-frequency equalization in a single-carrier MIMO system for frequency-selective channels

Frequency-domain equalization (FDE) has been shown to be an effective approach to combat frequency-selective wireless channels. In this letter, we propose a layered space-frequency equalization (LSFE) architecture for a single-carrier (SC) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, where MIMO FDE is employed at each stage or (layer) of detection. At a particular stage, a group of the best data streams in the minimum mean square error sense are detected and are canceled from the received signals. Simulation results show that our proposed LSFE structures can outperform layered space-time equalization (LSTE) structures and uncoded orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM), especially at a higher delay spread. Performance is enhanced further, by incorporating the FDE with time-domain decision feedback at each stage of LSFE. We also provide performance analysis for LSFE, in comparison with OFDM.