Probability of error analysis of predetection generalized selection combining receivers with correlated unbalanced Nakagami branches

In this paper we determine the probability of error of a predetection generalized selection combining (GSC) receiver with correlated and unbalanced diversity branches in a Nakagami‐m multipath fading channel. We start by finding the joint probability density function (PDF) of the decision variables. This involves the derivation of the joint PDF of the L largest random variables (L maxima) of an input population of N > L correlated nonidentically distributed random variables, based on the statistics of the input population. The results obtained are then used in the derivation of the error probabilities of noncoherent FSK (NCFSK) and DPSK receivers. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Universal receivers with side information from the demodulators: anexample for nonselective Rician fading channels

We consider binary orthogonal signaling over a nonselective Rician-fading channel with additive white Gaussian noise. The received signal over such a channel may have both a specular component and a scatter (Rayleigh-faded) component. If there is only a scatter component, the noncoherent receiver is optimal. If there is only a specular component, the optimal receiver is the coherent receiver. In general, the optimal receiver for a Rician channel depends on the strengths of the two signal components and the noise density, and the set of possible optimal receivers is infinite. We consider a system in which the noncoherent receiver and the coherent receiver are employed in a parallel configuration for a symbol-by-symbol demodulation of the received signal. Each sequence of transmitted symbols produces a sequence at the output of each of the parallel receivers. The task of identifying which of these received sequences is a more reliable reproduction of the transmitted sequence is the data verification problem. In this paper, we show that data verification can be accomplished by combining side information from the demodulators with a suitable error-control coding scheme. The resulting system is a universal receiver that provides good performance over the entire range of channel parameters. In particular, the universal receiver performs better than the traditional noncoherent receiver     

A performance study on optical burst switched networks: the ring topology

Existing performance studies on optical burst switched (OBS) networks have been focusing on channel blocking, i.e., when the required wavelength is not available on a link along a burst’s route. However, we identify another type of blocking as the receiver blocking, i.e., when the receiver at a burst’s destination node is occupied by another burst. Receiver blocking may account for the much larger part of total burst blocking. Receiver blocking has been largely ignored in existing research. In this paper we propose using multiple receivers or fiber delay lines (FDL) in front of the receivers in order to reduce the receiver blocking probability. Extensive simulation results on bi-directional OBS rings are presented to illustrate the problem and the performance of our proposed approaches. The results indicate that receiver blocking can be almost eliminated by using as little as three receivers and can be reduced by using a FDL of small length. To our knowledge, this is the first performance study that covers both channel and receiver blocking for OBS networks.     

A robust noncoherent equalizer receiver for fading channels with short memory .I. Basic structure

Traditional equalizers are very sensitive to carrier frequency offsets between the transmitter and receiver. Coherent receivers with frequency estimation algorithms can remove the offset to prevent the equalizer breakdown, but with a penalty in receiver complexity. On the other hand, noncoherent receivers such as differential detectors are inherently robust to the frequency offsets but cannot employ standard equalization techniques due to their nonlinear front-end. We introduce a simple noncoherent equalizer receiver structure for fading channel environments with short memory (up to two-bit intervals). The receiver consists of a whitened matched filter followed by a differential detector and a maximum likelihood sequence estimation (MLSE) equalizer. We examine the performance of this noncoherent equalizer by both analysis and simulation. It is shown that despite the simplicity, this receiver structure is capable of significant performance improvement as compared to an ordinary differential detector while operating with receiver frequency offsets two orders of magnitude greater than a traditional MLSE equalizer. This structure offers an attractive solution for high-bit-rate cordless transmission systems such as Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) that use simple noncoherent receivers whose performance can be constrained by channel dispersion. Using DECT as a case study, we show that the equalizer's performance limits are caused by the receiver nonlinearity and can be improved by adaptation of this nonlinearity to channel conditions.     

On the detection of bandlimited direct-sequence spread-spectrumsignals transmitted via fading multipath channels

Recent investigations suggest bandlimited direct-sequence spread-spectrum transmission for use in CDMA mobile radio systems. In this paper, transmission systems with signal bandwidths not exceeding the chip rate are considered. First, the optimum noncoherent single-user receiver and various suboptimum approximations thereof are derived. These receivers utilize the fact that the received signals can be sampled at chip rate. This results in receiver concepts, which are well suited for fully digital implementations. Then, it is shown that the main result on the structure of the optimum single-user receiver is directly applicable to optimum noncoherent multiuser joint detection and interference cancellation. In this paper, noncoherent detection is considered. By this, we mean that only the channel statistics and not the channel itself is known to the receiver. It is shown that due to this less restrictive assumption, more powerful channel coding and interleaving schemes can be employed     

Performance Analysis of Optimum and Suboptimum Selection Diversity Schemes on Rayleigh Fading Channels With Imperfect Channel Estimates

In this paper, we present a comparative analysis on the effects of channel estimation errors on the performance of optimum and suboptimum selection diversity (SD) receivers on Rayleigh-fading channels. By modeling the estimation errors as independent complex Gaussian random variables, we derive simple closed-form expressions for the average probability of error for both optimum and suboptimum SD schemes with noisy channel estimates. With dual diversity and imperfect estimates, we establish a connection between optimum SD and maximal-ratio combining (MRC), and between suboptimum SD and equal-gain combining diversity schemes. Interestingly, we show that the optimum SD receiver structure and the resulting performance for differential binary coherent phase-shift keying (DBPSK) signaling can be obtained, in a straightforward way, as a special case of the performance of the optimum SD scheme with binary PSK signaling and channel estimation errors. For a fixed average power and bit duration, in conjunction with pilot-assisted minimum mean-square error channel estimation, we show that the optimum coherent SD scheme coincides with that of the optimum noncoherent SD scheme with binary frequency-shift keying (BFSK) signaling, whereas the coherent MRC scheme coincides with the optimum noncoherent receiver (i.e., the square-law combiner) for BFSK. The optimum number of diversity channels, under an energy-sharing mode of operation, is also studied. Finally, we formulate the problem of optimal pilot placement, consider channel estimation with a practical pilot-symbol-assisted modulation technique, and present some numerical results illustrating the comparative performances of various SD receivers     

Error Probablity for Optimal and Suboptimal Quadratic Receivers in Rapid Rayleigh Fading Channels

The exact performance of optimal and suboptimal quadratic receivers in a binary hypothesis test between jointly distributed zero mean complex Gaussian variates is derived. The probability of error is given as a function of the characteristic values of a generalized eigenvalue problem set up in terms of the covariance matrix of the received signal-plus-noise and in the matrix of the quadratic form of the receiver. The results include the exact performance of various types of suboptimal receivers including those previously derived for the envelope matched filter for MFSK and the noncoherent DBPSK receiver in rapid Rayleigh fading, nonfrequency-selective channels. Also, the performance of near-optimal stationary process-long observation time [SPLOT] receivers, "energy detectors," and other approximately optimal receivers may be calculated for noncoherent signaling in the same channel.     

Coded noncoherent communication with amplitude/phase modulation: from shannon theory to practical architectures

We develop bandwidth efficient radio transceivers, using amplitude/phase modulations, for frequency non-selective channels whose time variations are typical of outdoor mobile wireless systems. The transceiver is noncoherent, neither requiring pilots for channel estimation and tracking nor assuming prior channel knowledge on the part of the receiver. Serial concatenation of a binary outer channel code with an inner differential modulation code provides a turbo structure that, along with the channel memory, is exploited for joint iterative channel and data estimation. While prior work on noncoherent communication mainly focuses on PSK alphabets, we consider a moderate to high SNR regime in which amplitude/phase constellations are more efficient. First, the complexity of block noncoherent demodulation is reduced to a level that is comparable to coherent receivers. Then, a tool for choosing the constellation and bit-to-symbol mapping is developed by adapting Extrinsic Information Transfer (EXIT) charts for noncoherent demodulation. The recommended constellations differ significantly from standard coherent channel constellations, and from prior recommendations for uncoded noncoherent systems. The analysis shows that standard convolutional codes are nearly optimal when paired with differential amplitude/phase modulation.     

Detection techniques for fading multipath channels with unresolvedcomponents

In this paper we consider noncoherent detection structures for multipath Ricean/Rayleigh fading channels. The multipath components are assumed to be unresolved, with known delays. These delays could have been estimated, for example, by using super-resolution techniques or sounding the channel with a wide-band pulse. We show that the Rayleigh channel optimum receiver (R OPT) consists of an “orthogonalization” (or decorrelation) stage and then it implements an optimum decision rule for a resolved multipath channel. Since the optimum decision rule over Ricean channels is in general too complex for implementation, we propose several suboptimum structures such as the quadratic decorrelation receiver (QDR) and the quadratic receiver (QR). The QDR scheme exploits the decorrelation performed on the input samples. The nonlinear term due to the Ricean specular term is replaced by a quadratic form that is more suitable for implementation. Single-pulse performance of these schemes are studied for commonly used binary modulation formats such as FSK and DPSK. This paper shows that it is possible to have diversity-like gains over Ricean/Rayleigh multipath fading channels with unresolved components even if the channel is not fully tracked. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the importance of using generalizations of RAKE receivers designed to handle the unresolvability condition. For two-path mixed-mode Ricean/Rayleigh channels, it is shown that improved performance can be obtained by using receivers that know the strength of the Ricean specular term     

Noncoherent sequence detection receiver for Bluetooth systems

The design of power efficient receivers for Bluetooth systems is a challenging task due to stringent complexity constraints. In this paper, we tackle this problem and present a receiver design consisting of a single filter and a subsequent noncoherent sequence detector. This receiver outperforms the conventional discriminator detector by more than 4 dB for typical Bluetooth channels. Thereby, the proposed noncoherent sequence detection (NSD) algorithm is both favorably low complex as it operates on a two-state trellis and highly robust against channel phase variations caused by low-cost local oscillators. The particular filter design accomplishes effective out-of-band interference suppression. Different from previous work on sequence detector receivers published in the literature, we take possible variations of the Bluetooth modulation parameters into account, and we also devise efficient methods for combined NSD and forward error correction decoding. Hence, the presented receiver design is an attractive solution for practical Bluetooth devices.     

Performance Analysis of Linear Modulation Schemes With Generalized Diversity Combining on Rayleigh Fading Channels With Noisy Channel Estimates

Generalized diversity combining (GDC), also known as hybrid selection/maximal ratio combining or generalized selection combining, is a low-complexity diversity combining technique by which a fixed subset of a large number of available diversity channels is chosen and then combined using the rules of maximal ratio combining. In this paper, we analyze the performance of GDC on time-correlated Rayleigh fading channels with noisy channel estimates. We derive expressions for the probability of error for various linear modulation schemes with coherent detection, and discuss the conditions under which the analysis can be extended to noncoherent and differentially coherent receiver structures. Throughout the paper, using a fundamental approach to obtain the decision statistic at the combiner output, a number of new expressions for the error probabilities are obtained in a rigorous way, along with a presentation of their performance with channel estimation errors. The final expressions have roughly the same complexity of evaluation as that for the channel with only additive Gaussian noise. Our results correct various inaccuracies in the literature, and show that coherent receivers based on imperfectly estimated channel knowledge incur a significant performance loss.      

Modulation and Detection for Simple Receivers in Rapidly Time-Varying Channels

We investigate the performance degradation of basic modulation schemes in a rapidly time-varying channel using a first-order autoregressive channel model. Various performance metrics are used to indicate the relative advantages of each modulation scheme. We find that noncoherent frequency-shift keying (FSK) is suitable for operating at very high mobility and high signal-to-noise ratio, ideal for some military applications. We then propose a partially coherent detector for FSK and differential phase-shift keying that exploits partial channel knowledge to enable the receiver to operate effectively in both fast and slow fading. The maximum-likelihood rule obtained for the partially coherent FSK turns out to be a linear combination of coherent and noncoherent detection rules. Results demonstrate that significant performance improvement can be achieved over the best of coherent and noncoherent FSK detection. The detector is robust to estimation errors present in the channel statistics. We also propose a few adaptive schemes that employ various combinations of modulation schemes to increase the robustness of the system in fast fading     

Cross‐layer scheduling for multi‐users in cognitive multi‐radio mesh networks

A wireless mesh network has been popularly researched as a wireless backbone for Internet access. However, the deployment of wireless mesh networks in unlicensed bands of urban areas is challenging because of interference from external users such as residential access points. We have proposed Urban‐X, which is a first attempt towards multi‐radio cognitive mesh networks in industrial, scientific, and medical bands. Urban‐X first controls network topology with a distributed channel assignment to avoid interference in large timescale. In such a topology, we develop a new link‐layer transmission‐scheduling algorithm together with source rate control as a small‐timescale approach, which exploits receiver diversity when receivers of multi‐flows can have different channel conditions because of varying interference. For this purpose, mesh nodes probe the channel condition of received mesh nodes using group Request to Send and group Clear to Send. In this study, we establish a mathematical Urban‐X model in a cross‐layer architecture, adopting a well‐known network utility maximization framework. We demonstrate the feasibility of our idea using a simulation on the model. Simulation results show improved network throughput from exploiting receiver diversity and distributed channel assignment under varying external user interference. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive maximum likelihood receiver for correlatedRayleigh-fading channels

The paper develops a receiver structure for random Gaussian signals in additive noise based on the classic maximum likelihood (M-L), estimator-correlator derivation of Kailath [1960], and applies it to differential phase shift keying (DPSK) on the correlated Rayleigh-fading channel. It is shown to lower the error floor found in the performance of conventional DPSK receivers by orders of magnitude. In addition, the maximum-likelihood procedure is shown to make uncorrelated symbol decisions. The performance of both conventional and optimal receivers, which require knowledge of the channel statistics, is examined analytically. A recursive, channel-adaptive version of the optimal receiver, utilizing decision feedback to estimate the channel statistics, is developed. Its simulated performance shows no penalty compared to theoretical calculations which require explicit knowledge of the channel statistics     

On Noncoherent MIMO Channels in the Wideband Regime: Capacity and Reliability

We consider a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wideband Rayleigh block-fading channel where the channel state is unknown to both the transmitter and the receiver and there is only an average power constraint on the input. We compute the capacity and analyze its dependence on coherence length, number of antennas and receive signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) per degree of freedom. We establish conditions on the coherence length and number of antennas for the noncoherent channel to have a "near-coherent" performance in the wideband regime. We also propose a signaling scheme that is near-capacity achieving in this regime. We compute the error probability for this wideband noncoherent MIMO channel and study its dependence on SNR, number of transmit and receive antennas and coherence length. We show that error probability decays inversely with coherence length and exponentially with the product of the number of transmit and receive antennas. Moreover, channel outage dominates error probability in the wideband regime. We also show that the critical as well as cutoff rates are much smaller than channel capacity in this regime     

Blind multiuser detection in uplink CDMA with multipath fading: a sequential EM approach

We consider joint channel estimation and data detection in uplink asynchronous code-division multiple-access systems employing aperiodic (long) spreading sequences in the presence of unknown multipath fading. Since maximum-likelihood (ML) sequence estimation is too complex to perform, multiuser receivers are proposed based on the sequential expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. With the prior knowledge of only the signature waveforms, the delays and the second-order statistics of the fading channel, the receivers sequentially estimate the channel using the sequential EM algorithm. Moreover, the snapshot estimates of each path are tracked by linear minimum mean-squared error filters. The user data are detected by a ML sequence detector, given the channel estimates. The proposed receivers that use the exact expressions have a computational complexity O(2/sup K/) per bit, where K is the number of users. Using the EM algorithm, we derive low-complexity approximations which have a computational complexity of O(K/sup 2/) per bit. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed receivers offer substantial performance gains over conventional pilot-symbol-assisted techniques and achieve a performance close to the known channel bounds. Furthermore, the proposed receivers even outperform the single-user RAKE receiver with Nyquist pilot-insertion rate in a single-user environment.     

A union bound on the error probability of binary codes over block-fading channels

Block-fading is a popular channel model that approximates the behavior of different wireless communication systems. In this paper, a union bound on the error probability of binary-coded systems over block-fading channels is proposed. The bound is based on uniform interleaving of the coded sequence prior to transmission over the channel. The distribution of error bits over the fading blocks is computed. For a specific distribution pattern, the pairwise error probability is derived. Block-fading channels modeled as Rician and Nakagami distributions are studied. We consider coherent receivers with perfect and imperfect channel side information (SI) as well as noncoherent receivers employing square-law combining. Throughout the paper, imperfect SI is obtained using pilot-aided estimation. A lower bound on the performance of iterative receivers that perform joint decoding and channel estimation is obtained assuming the receiver knows the correct data and uses them as pilots. From this, the tradeoff between channel diversity and channel estimation is investigated and the optimal channel memory is approximated analytically. Furthermore, the optimal energy allocation for pilot signals is found for different channel memory lengths.     

Complex noncoherent receivers for GMSK signals

Noncoherent demodulators are very attractive for high performance radio LAN (HIPERLAN) systems because of their low implementation costs and their inherent robustness against frequency and carrier phase offsets. However, when the channel is time dispersive, the nonlinear intersymbol interference (ISI) introduced by these demodulators precludes the use of conventional linear equalization strategies. We present an alternative noncoherent receiver structure followed by a nonlinear equalizer, which includes a RAM and a Viterbi detector, capable of equalizing nonlinear multipath fading channels. In addition, we also present a new algorithm specifically for noncoherent demodulators, which allows estimation of all useful signal values at the input of the equalizer to be stored in the RAM. By means of computer simulations, we report the performance and computational complexity tradeoffs of the receiver/equalizer structure, including antenna diversity. We show that demodulators which consist of a complex receiver and a Viterbi detector are much more robust against multipath fading channels than traditional real noncoherent demodulators. The results suggest that in a typical HIPERLAN scenario, where the channel delay spread is less than 50 ns and a reliable line of sight component exists, it is feasible to combat multipath effects using noncoherent demodulation     

Power-adaptation strategies for DS/CDMA communications with successive interference cancellation in Nakagami-fading channels

In this paper, power adaptation for direct-sequence code-division multiple-access communications that employs a successive interference cancellation (SIC) receiver is considered. The transmission power is adapted so that, with the channel variations, the received power levels of each user have appropriate disparities. Under the constraint of average transmission power, we consider two strategies in adjusting the disparity between received signal powers. With the first strategy, the average bit-error rate (BER) for a given user averaged over channel fading statistics is minimized, while with the other, the instantaneous BER is equal for all users. We find that the performance difference between the two strategies becomes negligible as the average transmission power or line-of-sight component increases. We also discuss the impact of appropriate disparity in received power levels on the BER performance of SIC receivers.     

Novel diversity receivers in the presence of Gaussian channel estimation errors

Novel diversity receivers that operate in the presence of Gaussian channel estimation errors are proposed for L independent and identically distributed fading channels. Previous work concerned with channel estimation errors has mainly examined the performance of maximal ratio combining (MRC) with estimation errors. It is shown here that MRC is not optimal when estimation errors occur. Moreover, it is shown that better diversity receivers that operate in the presence of Gaussian channel estimation errors can be obtained by using knowledge of the channel estimate statistics. Numerical results show that the derived new diversity receivers can perform as much as 2.0 dB in signal-to-noise ratio better than the conventional MRC receiver in some cases.