Channel-Punctured Large MIMO Detection

Low-complexity data detectors targeted for large multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems are considered. By systematically puncturing the channel matrix to have a specific structure, the complexity of standard non-linear detectors can be significantly reduced. The performance of these detectors is characterized and analyzed mathematically, and bounds on the achievable diversity gain and probability of bit error are derived. It is shown that puncturing does not negatively impact the receive diversity gain in hard-output detectors. Moreover, in soft-output detection, significant performance gains are attainable by ordering the layer of interest to be at the root when puncturing the channel. The proposed schemes scale up efficiently both in the number of antennas and constellation size.