On the Performance Tradeoff of an ISAC System with Finite Blocklength

Abstract: Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) has been proposed as a promising paradigm in the future wireless networks, where the spectral and hardware resources are shared to provide a considerable performance gain. It is essential to understand how sensing and communication (S&C) influences each other to guide the practical algorithm and system design in ISAC. In this paper, we investigate the performance tradeoff between S&C in a single-input single-output (SISO) ISAC system with finite blocklength. In particular, we present the system model and the ISAC scheme, after which the rate-error tradeoff is introduced as the performance metric. Then we derive the achievability and converse bounds for the rate-error tradeoff, determining the boundary of the joint S&C performance. Furthermore, we develop the asymptotic analysis at large blocklength regime, where the performance tradeoff between S&C is proved to vanish as the blocklength tends to infinity. Finally, our theoretical analysis is consolidated by simulation results.