ABSTRACT
The increasing demand for higher data rates, better quality of service, fully mobile and connected wireless networks have led the researchers to seek new solutions beyond 4G wireless systems. It is anticipated that 5G wireless networks, which are expected to be introduced around 2020, will achieve ten times higher spectral and energy efficiency than current 4G wireless networks and will support data rates up to 10 Gbps for low mobility users. These ambitious goals set for 5G wireless networks require comprehensive changes in the design of different layers for next generation communications systems. Within this perspective, massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, more flexible waveforms such as generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) and filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC) modulation, advanced relaying technologies, and millimeter-wave communications have been considered as some of the strong candidates for the physical layer design of 5G wireless networks. In this chapter, we investigate the potential and implementation of index modulation (IM) techniques for next generation MIMO and multi-carrier communications systems. In a specific manner, we focus on two promising forms of IM: spatial modulation (SM) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with IM (OFDM-IM), which have attracted significant attention from the wireless community in the past few years. Furthermore, we review some of the recent as well as promising advances in IM technologies and discuss possible future research directions for IM-based schemes towards spectrum- and energy-efficient 5G and beyond wireless networks.
