Performance Assessment of Linear Precoding for Multi-User Massive MIMO Systems on a Realistic 5G mmWave Channel

Abstract : In this paper, the performance of multiuser (MU) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems is evaluated in terms of bit error rate (BER). We focus on the case of a downlink single-cell scenario with linear precoding as zero forcing (ZF) and conjugate beamforming (CB). This performance evaluation is done over a statistical mmWave 5G propagation channel, using NYUSIM channel simulator developed by New York University in 2015. A study of the channel response characteristics is provided to define the system parameters. Simulation results in single-user scenario show better performance with an increasing number of base station antennas due to the increase of system diversity. For multiuser scenario, the performance degrade for a higher number of cell users due to inter-user interference.