Distributed Link Clustering for Clustered Cooperative MIMO

In the cooperative multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO), multiple access point (AP)-user links form a cluster to increase achievable throughput by cooperatively mitigating inter-user interference within the cluster. In this paper, we propose a clustered cooperative MIMO with a constraint on the cluster size so that the clustered MIMO can be implemented as a distributed version of downlink multiuser MIMO in existing standards with minimal modifications. New greedy algorithm and coalition formation algorithm are proposed using matching theory for establishing clusters and allocating frequencies. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms achieve almost 20% higher throughput than the fixed cell planning scheme, with very low searching complexity.