Blind Channel Identifiability for Generic Linear Space-Time Block Codes

Linear space-time block codes (STBCs) have proven their effectiveness in performance improvement of wireless multiple-input multiple-output communication systems. Their successful decoding, however, requires reliable channel knowledge at the receiver. In this paper, we present a semiblind channel estimation method for linear STBC without the usual code orthogonality condition. We provide a set of identification conditions that are mostly verifiable a priori in terms of code parameters and antenna array configuration. We also present a simple channel estimation algorithm. Finally, we provide simulation results that illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme