Space-Time Coding

This book is intended to provide an introductory coverage of the subject of space-time coding. It has arisen from our research, short continuing education courses, lecture series and consulting for industry. Its purpose is to provide a working knowledge of space-time coding and its application to wireless communication systems. With the integration of Internet and multimedia applications in next generation wireless communications, the demand for wide-band high data rate communication services is growing. As the available radio spectrum is limited, higher data rates can be achieved only by designing more efficient signaling techniques. Recent research in information theory has shown that large gains in capacity of communication over wireless channels are feasible in multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) systems. The MIMO channel is constructed with multiple element array antennas at both ends of the wireless link. Space-time coding is a set of practical signal design techniques aimed at approaching the information theoretic capacity limit of MIMO channels. The fundamentals of space-time coding have been established by Tarokh, Seshadri and Calderbank in 1998. Space-time coding and related MIMO signal processing soon evolved into a most vibrant research area in wireless communications.