OTFS: A New Generation of Modulation Addressing the Challenges of 5G

In this paper, we introduce a new 2D modulation scheme referred to as OTFS (Orthogonal Time Frequency & Space) that multiplexes information QAM symbols over new class of carrier waveforms that correspond to localized pulses in a signal representation called the delay-Doppler representation. OTFS constitutes a far reaching generalization of conventional time and frequency modulations such as TDM and FDM and, from a broader perspective, it establishes a conceptual link between Radar and communication. The OTFS waveforms couple with the wireless channel in a way that directly captures the underlying physics, yielding a high-resolution delay-Doppler Radar image of the constituent reflectors. As a result, the time-frequency selective channel is converted into an invariant, separable and orthogonal interaction, where all received QAM symbols experience the same localized impairment and all the delay-Doppler diversity branches are coherently combined. The high resolution delay-Doppler separation of the reflectors enables OTFS to approach channel capacity with optimal performance-complexity tradeoff through linear scaling of spectral efficiency with the MIMO order and robustness to Doppler and multipath channel conditions. OTFS is an enabler for realizing the full promise of MUMIMO gains even in challenging 5G deployment settings where adaptation is unrealistic. 1. OTFS – A NEXT GENERATION MODULATION History teaches us that every transition to a new generation of wireless network involves a disruption in the underlying air interface: beginning with the transition from 2G networks based on single carrier GSM to 3G networks based on code division multiplexing (CDMA), then followed by the transition to contemporary 4G networks based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The decision to introduce a new air interface is made when the demands of a new generation of use cases cannot be met by legacy technology – in terms of performance, capabilities, or cost. As an example, the demands for higher capacity data services drove the transition from legacy interference-limited CDMA network (that have limited flexibility for adaptation and inferior achievable throughput) to a network based on an orthogonal narrowband OFDM that is optimally fit for opportunistic scheduling and achieves higher spectral efficiency. Emerging 5G networks are required to support diverse usage scenarios, as described for example in . A fundamental requirement is multi-user MIMO, which holds the promise of massive increases in mobile broadband spectral efficiency using large numbers of antenna elements at the base-station in combination with advanced precoding techniques. This promise comes at the cost of very complex architectures that cannot practically achieve capacity using traditional OFDM techniques and suffers performance degradation in the presence of time and frequency selectivity (  and ). Other important use cases include operation under non-trivial dynamic channel conditions (for example vehicle-to-vehicle and high-speed rail) where adaptation becomes unrealistic, rendering OFDM narrowband waveforms strictly suboptimal. As a result, one is once again faced with the dilemma of finding a better suited air interface where the new guiding philosophy is: When adaptation is not a possibility one should look for ways to eliminate the need to adapt. The challenge is to do that without sacrificing performance. To meet this challenge one should fuse together two contradictory principles – (1) the principle of spreading (as used in CDMA) to obtain resilience to narrowband interference and to exploit channel diversity gain for increased reliability under unpredictable channel conditions and (2) the principle of orthogonality (as used in OFDM) to simplify the channel coupling for achieving higher spectral densities with a superior performance-complexity tradeoff. OTFS is a modulation scheme that carries information QAM symbols over a new class of waveforms which are spread over both time and frequency while remaining roughly orthogonal to each other under general delay-Doppler channel impairments. The key characteristic of the OTFS waveforms is related to their optimal manner of interaction with the wireless reflectors. This interaction induces a simple and symmetric coupling