Spatial sequence estimation based decoding algorithm for V-BLAST

In this paper we introduce a novel detection algorithm for V-BLAST. The original V-BLAST detector is based on a serial interference cancellation (SIC) algorithm. Although the algorithm is relatively simple to implement, it does not achieve the performance predicted by theoretical analysis. The nulling operation reduces the receive diversity and the serial processing results in unequal diversity advantage for different layers. Also the error propagation severely degrades the performance. A detection algorithm for V-BLAST based on sequence estimation is proposed. The concept of maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) is applied to combat spatial interference. State reduction techniques are also considered for practical implementation. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms interference cancellation based algorithms.