Asymptotic Performance of Downlink Massive MIMO with 1-bit Quantized Zero-Forcing Precoding

The use of 1-bit DACs for downlink massive MIMO system can significantly reduce base station energy consumption and hardware complexity with the tradeoff being the introduction of nonlinear impairments in the transmitted signal. We analyze the corresponding received signal at the single antenna users through Bussgang decomposition and spectral analysis up to third order harmonics. Through mathematical investigation and simulations, we also evaluate the spectral emissions, signal to quantization and interference ratio (SQINR), along with the achievable rate at the receivers. We observe that SQINR and achievable rate per user achieve a maximum for a nontrivial optimum number of users, which we estimate through our analyses.