A Low Complexity Near-Optimal MIMO Antenna Subset Selection Algorithm for Capacity Maximisation

Abstract

Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless systems employ a scheme called antenna subset selection for maximising the data rate or reliability for the prevailing channel conditions with the available or affordable number of radio frequency (RF) chains. In this paper, a low-complexity, and near-optimal performance fast algorithm is formulated and the detailed algorithm statements are stated with the exact complexity involved for capacity-maximising receive-only selection. The complexities of other receive-only selection comparable algorithms are calculated. Complexities have been stated in terms of both complex-complex flops and real-real flops. Significantly, all the algorithms are seen in the perspective of linear increase of capacity with the number of selected antennas up to one less than the total number of receive antennas. It is shown that our algorithm will be a good choice in terms of both performance and complexity for systems, which look for linear increase in capacity with the number of selected antennas up to one less than the total receive antennas. Our algorithm complexity is much less dependent on the number of transmit antennas and is not dependent on the number of selected antennas and it strikes a good tradeoff between performance and speed, which is very important for practical implementations.