OPTIMUM DIVERSITY COMBINER BASED MULTIUSER DETECTION FOR TIME-DISPERSIVE RICIAN FADING CDMA CHANNELS

Multiuser detection for asynchronous Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) data transmission over the time-dispersive two-path Rician fading channel is considered. The multiuser maximum likelihood sequence detector (MLSD) is derived, and an equivalence of the fading channel to an asynchronous Gaussian intersymbol interference (AGISI) CDMA channel is established. However, the MLSD is found to be implementationally infeasible and this motivates the derivation of the optimum linear detector with near/far resistance as the performance criterion. The optimally near/far resistant linear time-invariant K-user detector is shown to consist of a cascade of a 2K input/K output linear multiuser diversity combining filter followed by a K input/K output decorrelator that is designed for the equivalent AGISI/CDMA channel. This detector solves the near/far problem and also supports significantly higher bandwidth efficiencies for CDMA communication over the fading channel than does the conventional near/far limited single-user diversity combiner. The performance penalties incurred by multiuser detectors designed for the Gaussian channel when used over the Rician fading channel are also analytically characterized. It is shown that these penalties can be significant, making the case for the use of multiuser detectors optimized for this fading channel, particularly the optimum linear detector due to its relative implementational simplicity.