Channel precoding for indoor radio communications using dimension partitioning

A new phase precoding technique is developed to combat the intersymbol interference (ISI) resulting from a frequency-selective slowly fading channel in a personal communication system using quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK). Based on a new dimension partitioning technique, the precoder predistorts only the phase of the transmitted signal to keep a constant transmitted signal amplitude and, therefore, to ensure the stability of the precoder even in equalizing a nonminimum-phase channel. Under the constraint of the constant amplitude, the dimension partitioning method is developed to guarantee the possibility of correct detection for all transmitted information symbols and to further improve the transmission accuracy by increasing the size of the decision regions. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate that over frequency selective Rayleigh and Rician fading channels, the system using the proposed channel precoder can achieve a bit error rate (BER) comparable with that using a conventional decision feedback equalizer (DFE). The precoder can outperform the DFE in an indoor environment where there is a strong direct propagation path. The main advantage of using the precoder is that the impairment of ISI due to multipath propagation on the transmission performance can be mitigated without increasing the complexity of the portable unit receiver. The proposed technique is especially useful for personal communications, where ISI due to multipath fading channels can severely deteriorate the BER transmission performance and where the simplicity of portable units is a vital characteristic of the system.