Patent ID: 8437434

Claim:
A method of decoding a signal transmitted via a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communication channel, the method comprising: receiving, at a receiving device, a plurality of received data symbols; selecting, at the receiving device, a first received data symbol from the plurality of received data symbols, wherein the plurality of received data symbols also includes second received data symbols; determining, at the receiving device, a plurality of global optimum candidate values of a first estimated transmitted data symbol corresponding to the first received data symbol for different given candidate values of second estimated transmitted data symbols corresponding to the second received data symbols; calculating, at the receiving device, likelihood values for bits corresponding to the second estimated transmitted data symbols using the plurality of global optimum candidate values of the first estimated transmitted data symbol; grouping, at the receiving device, all possible values of the first estimated transmitted data symbol into two or more bit groups; determining, at the receiving device, a plurality of local optimum candidate values for different bit groups and for different given candidate values of second estimated transmitted data symbols corresponding to the second received data symbols; and calculating, at the receiving device, likelihood values for bits corresponding to the first estimated transmitted data symbol using (i) the plurality of global optimum candidate values of the first estimated transmitted data symbol and (ii) the plurality of local optimum candidate values.