An amplify‐and‐forward and decode‐and‐forward mixed relay communication system and its performance analysis

A kind of amplify‐and‐forward (AF) and decode‐and‐forward (DF) mixed relay communication system is proposed in this letter. The source broadcasts the signal to all the relays. Relays that can decode the signal adopt DF scheme to retransmit the signal, while the rest adopt AF scheme for retransmission. The destination employs maximum ratio combining technique to maximize the received signal‐to‐noise ratio. Another situation concerned in this letter is that when the relay cannot decode the source signal, it may retransmit the interference signal with AF scheme. Closed‐form expressions of outage probability are derived. Simulation results show that the analytical curves agree with the simulated ones very well, and the AF‐DF mixed relay system can improve the availability of the relays. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of AF OFDM system using multiple relay in presence of nonlinear‐PA over inid Nakagami‐m fading

In this paper, performance of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing–based variable‐gain amplify and forward cooperative system using multiple relay with relay selection is analyzed over independent but not necessarily identically distributed frequency selective Nakagami‐m fading channels. For the analysis, nonlinear power amplifier is considered at the relay, and selection combining is adopted at destination node. Closed‐form expressions of the outage probability for various threshold signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) values and average symbol error rate for M‐ary quadrature amplitude modulation techniques are derived for the considered system. Further, the outage probability analysis is performed in high SNR regime to obtain the diversity order. Furthermore, impact of different fading parameters, multiple relay, and nonlinear power amplifier is highlighted on the outage probability and asymptotic outage probability for various threshold SNRs and on the average symbol error rate for various quadrature amplitude modulation constellations. The derived analytical expressions are generalized for various fading environments while considering the integer‐valued fading parameters. Finally, all the analytical results are verified through the Monte Carlo simulations for various SNR levels and system configurations.     

End‐to‐end performance of transmit antenna selection and generalized selection combining in dual‐hop amplify‐and‐forward relay network in the presence of feedback errors

In this paper, end‐to‐end performance of transmit antenna selection (TAS) and generalized selection combining (GSC) is studied in a dual‐hop amplify‐and‐forward relay network over flat Rayleigh fading channels. In the system, source and destination equipped with multiple antennas, communicate by the help of single relay equipped with single antenna. Source‐destination link is not available. TAS is used for transmission at the source, and GSC is used for reception at the destination. By considering the relay location and the presence of error in feedback channel from the relay to the source, we derive closed‐form outage probability, moment generating function and moments of end‐to‐end signal‐to‐noise ratio, and closed‐form symbol error probability (SEP) expressions for channel state information (CSI)‐based and fixed relay gains. The diversity order and array gain of the network are obtained for both CSI‐based and fixed relay gains by deriving asymptotical outage probability and SEP expressions. The analytical results are validated by the Monte Carlo simulations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General switch‐and‐examine relaying for demodulate‐and‐forward cooperative diversity

Two new demodulate‐and‐forward schemes of multi‐relay cooperative diversity with switch‐and‐examine relaying (SER) are analyzed. To reduce relay usage and enhance bandwidth efficiency, the two new cooperative diversity schemes employ a switch‐based relay selection. The proposed schemes consume less communication resource than regular relaying schemes, such as the selection combining (SC) or maximal ratio combining (MRC) schemes that always use all relays, and also achieve better performance than distributed switch‐and‐stay schemes. In the first scheme, the decision statistic for relay usage and selection is based on the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). In the second scheme, the log‐likelihood ratio (LLR) of received signals is used for the decision of relay usage and selection. With the two SER schemes, the bit error probability (BEP) of binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and the average number of used paths are derived and expressed in closed‐form for the independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh fading channels. Numerical and simulation results are presented for performance illustrations. According to the numerical results, the LLR‐based SER not only achieves a lower BEP but also consumes less relay resource than the SNR‐based SER. Furthermore, the LLR‐based SER scheme even outperforms the corresponding SNR‐based SC scheme for a range of average SNR. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MMSE‐based transceiver design for distributed MIMO amplify‐and‐forward cooperative networks in correlated channels

In this paper, the source‐precoder, multiple‐relay amplifying matrices, and destination‐equalizer joint optimization is investigated in distributed MIMO amplify‐and‐forward multiple‐relay networks with direct source–destination transmission in correlated fading channels. With the use of taking both the direct link and spatial correlation between antenna elements into account, the cooperative transceiver joint design is developed based on the minimum mean‐squared error criterion under individual power constraints at the source and multiple‐relay nodes. Simulation results demonstrate that the cooperative transceiver joint design architecture for an amplify‐and‐forward MIMO multiple‐relay system outperforms substantially the noncooperative transceiver design techniques on the BER performance under the spatial‐correlation channels.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nelder‐Mead–based power optimization for secrecy enhancement in amplify‐and‐forward cooperative relay networks

Cooperative communication based on relaying nodes has been considered as a promising technique to increase the physical layer security (PLS) performance in wireless communications. In this paper, an optimal power allocation (OPA) scheme based on Nelder‐Mead (NM) algorithm is proposed for improving the secrecy rate of amplify‐and‐forward (AF) cooperative relay networks employing cooperative jamming (CJ) scheme. The proposed hybrid jamming scheme allows the source and selected relay to transmit the jamming signal along with the information to confound the eavesdropper. The path selection probability of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is used for selecting the relay for transmission. The performance based on secrecy rate is evaluated for “n” trusted relays distributed dispersedly between the source and destination. Gradient‐based optimization and three‐dimensional exhaustive search methods are used as benchmark schemes for comparison of the proposed power optimization algorithm. The secrecy performance is also compared with conventional AF scheme and CJ scheme without power optimization (EPA). The impact of single and multiple relays on secrecy performance is also evaluated. Numerical results reveal that, compared with the gradient method and exhaustive search algorithm, the proposed power allocation strategy achieves optimal performance. Also, the derived OPA results show a significantly higher secrecy rate than the EPA strategy for both CJ and AF schemes.     

Performance analysis of two‐way wireless‐powered Amplify‐and‐Forward relaying in the presence of co‐channel interference

In this paper, we investigate the performance assessment of a bidirectional relaying system using energy harvesting techniques. We assume independent and nonidentically distributed (i.n.i.d.) Nakagami‐m fading channels where the amplify‐and‐forward relay is subject to co‐channel interference (CCI) due to transmissions of other transmitters. Two different scenarios, namely, scenario I and scenario II are evaluated. In scenario I, both end‐sources provide the required energy for the relay, whereas the relay also harvests energy from the co‐channel interferes. Then, in the first phase of cooperation, both end‐sources send the information to the relay, and after amplifying the received signal, relay transfers information to the appropriate destination in the second time‐slot. In the scenario II, both end‐sources harvest energy from the relay. After that, the information cooperative transmission is done similar to the first scenario. For both considered scenarios, tight closed‐form expressions of outage probability, symbol error probability, ergodic capacity, and throughput are obtained at arbitrary signal‐to‐noise‐ratios (SNRs). To get more insights, simplified high SNR results for both scenarios are also deduced where the diversity orders are obtained. Monte Carlo simulation results are presented to validate the correctness of our proposed analysis. Our results explicitly demonstrate that the first scenario has a better performance than the second one in the medium and high SNR region, whereas the second scenario outperforms the first one in the low SNR regime.     

Performance of joint transmit and receive antenna selection in dual hop amplify‐and‐forward relay network over Nakagami‐m fading channels

In this paper, performance of joint transmit and receive antenna selection in each hop of dual hop amplify‐and‐forward relay network is analyzed over flat and asymmetric Nakagami‐m fading channels. In the network, source, relay, and destination are equipped with multiple antennas. By considering relay location, we derive exact closed‐form cumulative distribution function, moment generating function, moments of end‐to‐end signal‐to‐noise ratio and closed form symbol error probability expressions for fixed and channel state information‐based relay gains. We also derive the asymptotical outage probability and symbol error probability expressions to obtain diversity order and array gain of the network. Analytical results are validated by the Monte Carlo simulations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis and power allocation for decode‐and‐forward cooperative communications over Rician fading channel

This paper derives the asymptotic symbol error rate (SER) and outage probability of decode‐and‐forward (DF) cooperative communications over Rician fading channels. How to optimally allocate the total power is also addressed when the performance metric in terms of SER or outage probability is taken into consideration. Analysis reveals the insights that Rician factor has a great impact on the system performance as compared with the channel variance, and the relay–destination channel quality is of importance. In addition, the source–relay channel condition is irrelevant to the optimal power allocation design. Simulation and numerical evaluation substantiate the tightness of the asymptotic expressions in the high‐SNR regions and demonstrate the accuracy of our theoretical analysis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Outage probability and channel capacity for the Nth best relay selection AF relaying over INID Rayleigh fading channels

Cooperative diversity systems have recently been proposed as a way to form virtual antenna schemes without utilizing collocated multiple antennas. In this paper, we consider the Nth best opportunistic amplify‐and‐forward (AF) cooperative diversity systems. The AF type can be regarded as one on the basis of modified channel state information. Wireless channels between any pair of nodes (i.e., direct and dual hop links) are assumed quasi‐static independent and nonidentically distributed (INID) Rayleigh fading. The best opportunistic AF (OAF) scheme requires two phases of transmission. During the first phase, the source node transmits a signal to all relays and the destination. In the second phase, the best relay is only selected on the basis of highest signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) scheme to forward the source signal to the destination. Therefore, the indirect link (i.e., source‐selected relay destination) can give the highest received SNR. However, the best relay selection cannot be available so that we might choose the second, third, or generally the Nth best relay. In this paper, we derive the approximated outage probability and channel capacity for the Nth best OAF relay systems over INID Rayleigh fading channels. At first, the indirect link's received SNR is approximated as harmonic mean upper bound. With this information, we obtain the given relay's Nth best selection probability as the closed form. Finally, both outage probability and channel capacity are derived as the closed forms. Simulation results are finally presented to validate the analysis. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel relay selection algorithm using ant colony optimization with artificial noise for secrecy enhancement in cooperative networks

Cooperative communication is one of the fastest growing research areas of today. It can efficiently mitigate the effect of shadowing and fading with the help of relays and proper relay selection technique. In this paper, a novel relay selection scheme combined with artificial noise (AN) is devised to enhance the secrecy of cooperative networks with amplify‐and‐forward scheme, over Rayleigh fading channels in the presence of a passive eavesdropper. The probability of path selection of ant colony optimization algorithm is used for selecting the best relay with high end‐to‐end signal‐to‐noise ratio. The probability of choosing a path depends on the significance of channel gain (G) and fading coefficients (h). The proposed algorithm finds the best relay in the following wireless scenarios: when (i) both channel gain and fading coefficients are significant; (ii) only fading coefficients are significant; and (iii) only channel gain is significant. Because the direct links between source and destination and source and eavesdropper are considered, AN along with the information is sent by both the source and the selected relay. The performance is evaluated based on secrecy rate (R_s); for the relays randomly placed between the source and destination and for different eavesdropper's location. The results show that the proposed relay selection scheme achieves better secrecy for different wireless scenarios compared with traditional schemes. With the help of AN, the secrecy rate can be made positive even when the eavesdropper lies near to source.     

Performance analysis of selective combining decode‐and‐forward relay networks over Nakagami‐n and Nakagami‐q fading channels

In this paper, we present the performance of selective combining decode‐and‐forward relay networks in independent and non‐identically distributed Nakagami‐n and Nakagami‐q fading channels by using the best–worse and the decoding‐set approaches. The outage probability, moment generation function, symbol error probability and average channel capacity are derived in closed‐form using the signal to noise ratio (SNR) statistical characteristics. After that, we analyze the outage probability at high SNRs, and then, we optimize it. Beside the optimum method, we have proposed a sub‐optimum adaptive method. Also, we derive the outage probability for the selection‐combining case with the direct link between the source and the destination. Finally, for comparison with analytical formulas, we perform some Monte‐Carlo simulations. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of multi‐antenna relay communication systems with MRC

The performance of multi‐antenna relay communication systems is investigated in this letter. The source broadcasts the signal to all the relays and the destination. Decode‐and‐forward scheme is adopted at the relays, and the destination employs maximum ratio combining (MRC) technique to maximize the received signal‐to‐noise ratio. Closed‐form expressions of outage probability are derived in the MRC case and minimum routes MRC case. An adaptive grouping algorithm of relay antennas is also presented under the constraint of total antenna number. Simulation results show that the analytical curves agree with the simulated ones very well, and the performance of the proposed grouping algorithm is very close to the upper bound mentioned in other papers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed BLAST with relay selection for multi‐antenna AF relaying

By examining the diversity–multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) of an amplify‐and‐forward (AF) multi‐antenna multi‐relay network, a procedure to select the optimal number of relays and relay candidates is established. Subsequently, a distributed BLAST transmission scheme in conjunction with successive nulling and cancellation at destination is proposed to achieve the optimal DMT. Illustrative results indicate that the proposed method can significantly enhance the outage probability performance, and for a selected number of relays in use, the performance enhancement can be further improved by increasing the number of available relays in the AF network. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design of Distributed Beamforming for Dual‐Hop Multiple‐Access Relay Networks

This paper studies a dual‐hop multiple‐access relay network where two independent source nodes transmit information to a common destination node with the aid of multiple single‐antenna amplify‐and‐forward relays. Each relay node is subject to an individual power constraint. We focus on the design of distributed beamforming schemes for the relays to support the transmission rate requirements of the two sources. To this end, we first characterize the achievable rate region for this network via solving a sequence of corner point optimization problems proposed in this paper. We also develop several low‐complexity suboptimal schemes in closed form. Two inner bounds of the achievable rate region are theoretically shown to be approximately optimal in two special scenarios. Finally, numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approaches.     

Outage analysis of blind cooperative diversity

Mobile users with single antennas can still take advantage of spatial diversity through cooperative space–time‐encoded transmission. In this paper, we considered a scheme in which a relay chooses to cooperate only if its source–relay channel is of an acceptable quality, and we evaluate the usefulness of relaying when the source acts blindly and ignores the decision of the relays whether they may cooperate or not. In our study, we consider the regenerative relays in which the decisions to cooperate are based on a targeted end‐to‐end data rate R. We derived the end‐to‐end outage probability for a transmission rate R and a code rate ρ and look at a power allocation strategy between the source and the relays in order to minimize the end‐to‐end outage probability at the destination for high signal‐to‐noise ratio, by using the golden section search method. Performance results show that the computer simulations‐based results coincide with our analytical results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Network‐coded multiple‐source cooperation aided relaying for free‐space optical transmission

A network‐coded cooperative relaying aided free‐space optical (FSO) transmission scheme is designed. The resultant multiple‐source cooperation diversity is exploited by the relay to mitigate the strong turbulence‐induced fading experienced in FSO channels. At the destination, an iterative multiple source detection algorithm is proposed in conjunction with a chip‐level soft network decoding method. Our performance evaluation results using simulation analysis demonstrate that the proposed FSO multiple source detection is capable of approaching the single‐user‐bound for transmission over Gamma–Gamma turbulence channels. Also, the network‐coded cooperative FSO scheme can achieve a significant BER improvement in comparison with conventional noncooperation schemes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

End‐to‐end security‐reliability analysis of multi‐hop cognitive relaying protocol with TAS/SC‐based primary communication,total interference constraint and asymmetric fading channels

In this paper, we analyze the tradeoff between outage probability (OP) and intercept probability (IP) for a multi‐hop relaying scheme in cognitive radio (CR) networks. In the proposed protocol, a multi‐antenna primary transmitter (PT) communicates with a multi‐antenna primary receiver (PR), using transmit antenna selection (TAS) / selection combining (SC) technique, while a secondary source attempts to transmit its data to a secondary destination via a multi‐hop approach in presence of a secondary eavesdropper. The secondary transmitters such as source and relays have to adjust their transmit power to satisfy total interference constraint given by PR. We consider an asymmetric fading channel model, where the secondary channels are Rician fading, while the remaining ones experience the Rayleigh fading. Moreover, an optimal interference allocation method is proposed to minimize OP of the primary network. For the secondary network, we derive exact expressions of end‐to‐end OP and IP which are verified by Monte Carlo simulations.     

Exact analysis of the multihop multibranch hybrid AF/DF relaying networks

In this paper, the exact analysis of a multihop multibranch (MHMB) relaying network is investigated wherein each relay can operate in amplify‐and‐forward (AF) or decode‐and‐forward (DF) modes depending upon the decoding result of its received signal. If a relay decodes the received signal correctly, it works in DF mode; otherwise, the relay operates in AF mode. Therefore, we name such relaying network as hybrid amplify‐and‐forward and decode‐and‐forward (hybrid AF/DF) relaying network. We first investigate the signal transmission from source to destination node via n number of relays in a hybrid AF/DF MHMB mode. Then, we obtained the statistical features and analyze the end‐to‐end signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). Finally, a comprehensive performance analysis is conducted by using maximal ratio combining (MRC) scheme at the destination node. For comparison, we also obtained the results using selection combining (SC) scheme at the destination node. To the best of our knowledge, very few works in the literature have considered a general system model of MHMB relaying network wherein each relay can operate in AF or DF modes, that is, a hybrid AF/DF relaying network. Accordingly, the analysis of our system model is not only novel and exact, but also is comprehensive and can be employed in the future works.     

Secrecy performance analysis of AF relaying with relay selection scheme over Nakagami‐m fading channels

This paper investigates the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and intercept behavior for the amplify‐and‐forward network over Nakagami‐m fading channels. Relay selection schemes are evaluated. The optimal and suboptimal criterions require the instantaneous and statistical channel state information of the eavesdroppers' channels, respectively. The enhanced 2‐hop criterion needs the additional information of the target secrecy rate for relay selection. Theoretical analysis reveals that the diversity order of the SOP is dominated by the minimum fading figures of the source‐relay and relay‐destination channels, while that of the intercept probability depends on the fading figure of the relay‐destination channel. In the multirelay scenario, the optimal, suboptimal, and enhanced 2‐hop scheme achieve the same diversity orders of the SOP. For the intercept probability, the optimal and second‐hop relay selection schemes provide the same diversity order, while the diversity orders of the suboptimal and enhanced 2‐hop schemes are the same. Simulation results finally substantiate the accuracy of the theoretical analysis.