Sparse, Group-Sparse, and Online Bayesian Learning Aided Channel Estimation for Doubly-Selective mmWave Hybrid MIMO OFDM Systems

Sparse, group-sparse and online channel estimation is conceived for millimeter wave (mmWave) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. We exploit the angular sparsity of the mmWave channel impulse response (CIR) to achieve improved estimation performance. First a sparse Bayesian learning (SBL)-based technique is developed for the estimation of each individual subcarrier’s quasi-static channel, which leads to an improved performance versus complexity trade-off in comparison to conventional channel estimation. Then a novel group-sparse Bayesian learning (G-SBL) scheme is conceived for reducing the channel estimation mean square error (MSE). The salient aspect of our G-SBL technique is that it exploits the frequency-domain (FD) correlation of the channel’s frequency response (CFR), while transmitting pilots on only a few subcarriers, thus it has a reduced pilot overhead. A low complexity (LC) version of G-SBL, termed LCG-SBL, is also developed that reduces the computational cost of the G-SBL significantly. Subsequently, an online G-SBL (O-SBL) variant is designed for the estimation of doubly-selective mmWave MIMO OFDM channels, which has low processing delay and exploits temporal correlation as well. This is followed by the design of a hybrid transmit precoder and receive combiner, which can operate directly on the estimated beamspace domain CFRs, together with a limited channel state information (CSI) feedback. Our simulation results confirms the accuracy of the analysis.