Transmit Power Optimization and Precoding Design in Multiuser Satellite MIMO Downlink With SINR Constraints

In this article, a multiuser (MU) satellite multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) downlink including a multibeam GEO satellite and multiple terrestrial users is considered. In order to meet the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) requirements of different users while minimizing the satellite transmit power, the onboard precoding problem is investigated. Zero-forcing (ZF) and regularized ZF (RZF) precoding are first adopted and it is found that they can satisfy the SINR constraints by multiplying by a power allocation matrix. The required power allocation matrix is divided into two types: 1) equal power factor schemes and 2) unequal power factor schemes, and they are derived separately, where Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions are used in RZF unequal power factor scheme and a heuristic algorithm is proposed to optimize the regularization factor in RZF schemes to further reduce the transmit power. Then, a semidefinite programming beamforming (SDPBF) is proposed to jointly optimize precoding and power allocation matrices. The closed-form expressions of the transmit power of the above five precoding schemes are derived and their performance is compared in the simulation part. The research results show that under the same conditions, the performance of RZF is better than that of ZF, the unequal power factor scheme is better than the equal power factor scheme, and SDPBF has the best performance. Besides, it is also found that in addition to changing the precoding method, activating more beams will further reduce the transmit power.

Automated summary

This article investigates the onboard precoding problem in a multiuser satellite MIMO downlink system. It compares the performance of zero-forcing (ZF) and regularized ZF (RZF) precoding schemes, and proposes a Semidefinite Programming Beamforming (SDPBF) approach to jointly optimize precoding and power allocation matrices. The research findings show that RZF outperforms ZF and unequal power factor scheme is superior to equal power factor scheme. SDPBF achieves the best performance. Additionally, activating more beams can further reduce the transmit power.