Closed-form space-time channel blind estimation for space-time coded MC-CDMA sytems with uniform linear array

This paper proposes a closed-form joint space-time channel and Direction Or Arrival (DOA) blind estimation algorithm for space-time coded Multi-Carrier Code Division Multiple Access (MC-CDMA) systems equipped with a Uniform Linear Array (ULA) at the base station in frequency-selective fading environments. The algorithm uses an ESPRIT-like method to separate multiple co-channel users with different impinging DOAs. As a result, the DOAs for multiple users are obtained. In particular, a set of signal subspaces, every one of which is spanned by the space-time vector channels of an individual user, are also obtained. From these signal subspaces, the space-time channels of multiple users are estimated using the subspace method. Computer simulations illustrate both the validity and the overall performance of the proposed scheme.