Multiple-input, multiple-output telecommunications schemes

Abstract

This disclosure concerns beam-forming vectors and beam-forming matrices for multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) communications systems. These systems, from the method perspective, provide, according to one embodiment, a method of feeding back, to a transmitter from a receiver in a MIMO communications system, at least part of a beam-forming vector of a beam-forming matrix, wherein: the vector relates to a spatial stream of the MIMO system; the vector comprises a series of elements; each element specifies a beam-forming weight for a respective transmit antenna of the transmitter; and the method comprises: calculating a scaling factor that would scale a first element of the vector to a value of one; scaling the other element or elements of the vector with the scaling factor; and feeding back the scaled other element or elements to the transmitter to inform a beam-forming process. These systems, from the method perspective, provide, according to another embodiment, a method of processing a beam-forming matrix, wherein: the beam-forming matrix is for adjusting signals that are to issue from the transmit antennae of a MIMO communications system; the MIMO communications system comprises a transmitter and a receiver; the beam-forming matrix is capable of being decomposed into a series of beam-forming vectors; each beam-forming vector relates to a spatial stream of the MIMO system; each beam-forming vector comprises a series of elements; each element specifies a beam-forming weight for a transmit antenna of the transmitter; and the method comprises: obtaining a beam-forming matrix in which the elements are quantized; and orthogonalizing the beam-forming vectors with respect to one another.