Measurement-Based Stochastic Cross-Correlation Models of a Multilink Channel in Cooperative Communication Environments

In this paper, stochastic models for the cross-correlation of multiple channels are established based on measurement data collected using a wideband multiple-input multiple-output relay Band Exploration and Channel Sounder system at 3.7 GHz. We propose models for the cross-correlation characteristics of large-scale parameters (LSPs) between two links, that is, the base station and mobile station (MS) link and the relay station and MS link. The LSPs include shadow fading, Rician K-factor, delay spread, angle spread of arrival, and angle spread of departure. Furthermore, models are established for the cross-correlation of the small-scale fading in the impulse responses of two links. The statistics of these model parameters are investigated as functions of geometrical features of the multilink. They are extracted from a large amount of cross-correlation observations, which are obtained in three measurement sites along more than one hundred measurement routes. These models can be used together with the standard single-link channel models for the generation of correlated components, for example, path clusters, in two separate channels.