Learning-based optimal ADC bit allocation in quantized MIMO systems

Abstract

Low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) have emerged as a promising solution to reduce the power consumption of massive multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) receivers. However, allocating a fixed number of ADC bits uniformly across all receive antennas often results in suboptimal energy efficiency (EE), particularly when channel conditions vary significantly across antennas. This paper proposes a learningbased ADC bit allocation strategy that dynamically adjusts the resolution of each ADC based on the corresponding channel gain. The proposed method effectively allocates higher-resolution ADCs to antennas experiencing stronger channel gains while minimizing the resolution for weaker channels, thereby improving the overall EE. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves near-optimal EE performance comparable to the brute-force approach but with significantly lower computational complexity. Moreover, the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional uniform bit allocation method, highlighting its potential for practical deployment in future energy-constrained MIMO systems.