Pseudo-Random Quantization Based Two-Stage Detection in One-Bit Massive MIMO Systems

Abstract: Utilizing low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) in uplink massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems is a practical solution to decrease power consumption. The performance gap between the low and high-resolution systems is small at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes. However, at high SNR and with high modulation orders, the achievable rate saturates after a finite SNR value due to the stochastic resonance (SR) phenomenon. This paper proposes a novel pseudo-random quantization (PRQ) scheme by modifying the quantization thresholds that can help compensate for the effects of SR and makes communication with high-order modulation schemes such as $1024$-QAM in one-bit quantized uplink massive MIMO systems possible. Moreover, modified linear detectors for non-zero threshold quantization are derived, and a two-stage uplink detector for single-carrier (SC) multi-user systems is proposed. The first stage is an iterative method called Boxed Newton Detector (BND) that utilizes Newton's Method to maximize the log-likelihood with box constraints. The second stage, Nearest Codeword Detector (NCD), exploits the first stage solution and creates a small set of most likely candidates based on sign constraints to increase detection performance. The proposed two-stage method with PRQ outperforms the state-of-the-art detectors from the literature with comparable complexity while supporting high-order modulation schemes.