Non-Orthogonal Time-Frequency Space Modulation

Abstract: This paper proposes a Time-Frequency Space Transformation (TFST) to derive non-orthogonal bases for modulation techniques over the delay-doppler plane. A family of Overloaded Delay-Doppler Modulation (ODDM) techniques is proposed based on the TFST, which enhances flexibility and efficiency by expressing modulated signals as a linear combination of basis signals. A Non-Orthogonal Time-Frequency Space (NOTFS) digital modulation is derived for the proposed ODDM techniques, and simulations show that they offer high-mobility communication systems with improved spectral efficiency and low latency, particularly in challenging scenarios such as high overloading factors and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channels. A modified sphere decoding algorithm is also presented to efficiently decode the received signal. The proposed modulation and decoding techniques contribute to the advancement of non-orthogonal approaches in the next-generation of mobile communication systems, delivering superior spectral efficiency and low latency, and offering a promising solution towards the development of efficient high-mobility communication systems.