Optimal Precoding for Multiuser MIMO Systems With Phase Quantization and PSK Modulation via Branch-and-Bound

Abstract: MIMO systems are considered as most promising for wireless communications. However, with an increasing number of radio front ends the corresponding energy consumption and costs become an issue, which can be relieved by the utilization of low-resolution quantizers. In this study we propose an optimal precoding algorithm constrained to constant envelope signals and phase quantization that maximizes the minimum distance to the decision threshold at the receivers using a branch-and-bound strategy. The proposed algorithm is superior to the existing methods in terms of bit error rate. Numerical results show that the proposed approach has significantly lower complexity than exhaustive search.