Truncated Beam Sweeping for Spatial Covariance Matrix Reconstruction in Hybrid Massive MIMO

Spatial covariance matrix (SCM) is essential in many applications of multi-antenna systems such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). For massive MIMO operating at millimeter-wave bands, hybrid analog-digital structure has been adopted to reduce the cost of radio frequency (RF) chains. In this situation, signals received at the antennas are unavailable to the digital receiver, and as a consequence, traditional sample average approach cannot be used for SCM reconstruction in hybrid massive MIMO. To address this issue, beam sweeping algorithm (BSA), which can reconstruct SCM effectively in hybrid massive MIMO, has been proposed in our previous work. In this paper, a truncated BSA is further proposed for SCM reconstruction by taking into account the patterns of antenna elements in the array. Due to the directive antenna pattern, sweeping results corresponding to predetermined direction-of-angles (DOA) far from the normal direction are small and thus can be replaced by predetermined constants. At the cost of negligible performance reduction, SCM can be reconstructed efficiently by sweeping only the predetermined DOAs that are close to the normal direction. In this way, BSA can be conducted much faster than its traditional counterpart. Insightful analysis will be also included to show the impact of truncation on the performance.

Spatial Covariance Matrix Reconstruction for DOA Estimation in Hybrid Massive MIMO Systems with Multiple Radio Frequency Chains

Multiple signal classification (MUSIC) has been widely applied in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) receivers for direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation. To reduce the cost of radio frequency (RF) chains operating at millimeter-wave bands, hybrid analog-digital structure has been adopted in massive MIMO transceivers. In this situation, the received signals at the antennas are unavailable to the digital receiver, and as a consequence, the spatial covariance matrix (SCM), which is essential in MUSIC algorithm, cannot be obtained using traditional sample average approach. Based on our previous work, we propose a novel algorithm for SCM reconstruction in hybrid massive MIMO systems with multiple RF chains. By switching the analog beamformers to a group of predetermined DOAs, SCM can be reconstructed through the solutions of a set of linear equations. In addition, based on insightful analysis on that linear equations, a low-complexity algorithm, as well as a careful selection of the predetermined DOAs, will be also presented in this paper. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can reconstruct the SCM accurately so that MUSIC algorithm can be well used for DOA estimation in hybrid massive MIMO systems with multiple RF chains.