Iterative interference cancellation and channel estimation in multibeam satellite systems

摘要

This paper deals with the use of non-linear multiuser detection techniques to mitigate co-channel interference on the reverse link of multibeam satellite systems. These techniques allow more capacity efficient frequency reuse strategies than classical ones, as they make possible to cope with lower C/I. The considered system takes as a starting point the DVB-RCS standard, with the use of convolutional coding, and the use of the Ka-band. We propose different iterative interference cancellation schemes, which operate at the beamformer outputs, and which use information from decoders. The proposed receivers assume an initial single-user synchronization step: frame synchronization and timing recovery, and then perform channel estimation: beamformer coefficients; signal carrier phases and signal amplitudes. In a first step, these receivers are evaluated by simulation in terms of bit error rate and of channel estimation error on two interference configurations. For one of these receivers, sensitivity to imperfect timing recovery and to low-frequency offsets from user terminals is evaluated. In a second step, since the receiver performances highly depend on the interference configuration, we propose an approach to evaluate performances on a multibeam coverage (by taking into account the variability of interference configurations on the coverage). This method is used to compare different receivers on an example based on a coverage designed on a digital focal array feed reflector antenna.