An ICSD Signal Detector for MIMO Power Line Communications

An improved complex sphere decoder (ICSD) signal detector is proposed for multiple-input multiple-output power line communications (MIMO-PLC). It investigates a candidate points block using an accumulated cost function derived from a search arc constrained by the received signals. Subsequently, the candidate points sub-block, whose lower cost bound is not smaller than the upper bound, is pruned from further exploration. Simultaneously, upon discovering a new feasible candidate point, the algorithm prioritizes the path closest to completion to generate the sub-block with better solutions. This approach facilitates the rapid convergence of the proposed algorithm with lower computational complexity. Simulation results indicate that the enhanced complex sphere decoder algorithm, as proposed, outperforms all other suboptimal detectors discussed in this paper in terms of mitigating multi-stream interference. This holds true regardless of whether the receiver utilizes a common mode terminal. Furthermore, its complexity exhibits a polynomial relationship with the number of ports, particularly when the signal-to-noise ratio is elevated.