Another Look at Multibranch Switched Diversity Systems

We propose an alternative simpler implementation of generalized switch and stay combining (GSSC) receiver, which utilizes only one switching circuit and includes the classic dual SSC as a special case. Its performance is evaluated over Nakagami-m fading channels leading in closed-form expressions for the average symbol error probability. Moreover, for the case of non identical branches, the optimum threshold is accurately approximated in closed-form, avoiding the use of complicated numerical methods     

Increasing the Efficiency of Rake Receivers for Ultra-Wideband Applications

In diversity rich environments, such as in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) applications, the a priori determination of the number of strong diversity branches is difficult, because of the considerably large number of diversity paths, which are characterized by a variety of power delay profiles (PDPs). Several Rake implementations have been proposed in the past, in order to reduce the number of the estimated and combined paths. To this aim, we introduce two adaptive Rake receivers, which combine a subset of the resolvable paths considering simultaneously the quality of both the total combining output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the individual SNR of each path, reducing the number of combined paths, while keeping the desirable performance. These schemes achieve better adaptation to channel conditions compared to other known receivers, without further increasing the complexity. Their performance is evaluated in different practical UWB channels, whose models are based on extensive propagation measurements. The proposed receivers compromise between the power consumption, complexity and performance gain for the additional paths, resulting in important savings in power and computational resources.     

An Improved Approximation for the Gaussian Q-Function

We present a novel, simple and tight approximation for the Gaussian Q-function and its integer powers. Compared to other known closed-form approximations, an accuracy improvement is achieved over the whole range of positive arguments. The results can be efficiently applied in the evaluation of the symbol error probability (SEP) of digital modulations in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and the average SEP (ASEP) over fading channels. As an example we evaluate in closed-form the ASEP of differentially encoded QPSK in Nakagami-m fading.     

Blind Ratio Combining (BRC): An Optimum Diversity Receiver for Coherent Detection With Unknown Fading Amplitudes

We present an optimum diversity receiver called blind ratio combining (BRC) that minimizes the average symbol error probability or maximizes the average output SNR, where the channels' time delays and the random phases are known, while the fading amplitudes are unknown. In contrast to previous works, where efforts were made to find a posteriori probabilities at the receiver, the BRC simply calculates the optimum weights, which depend on the channel's statistics, avoiding continuous channel estimation, and thus, it significantly reduces the system's complexity. In nonidentical multipath fading channels with power delay profile (PDP), the BRC receiver performs between maximal ratio combining (MRC) and equal gain combining (EGC), and keeps its performance comparable - and in some cases superior - to that of generalized selection combining, while for large values of the decay factor, it approaches MRC. Moreover, in the important practical case of exponential PDP - common in RAKE receivers modeling and adopted for the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System spatial channel modeling by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute-3GPP - the optimum weights can be accurately approximated by simple elementary functions. Furthermore, it is proved that the utilization of these weights ensures an error performance improvement over EGC for arbitrary PDPs. The proposed BRC receiver can be efficiently applied in wireless wideband communication systems, where a large number of diversity branches exists, due to the strong multipath effects.     

Increasing power efficiency in transmitter diversity systems under error performance constraints

Motivated by combinatorial optimization theory, we propose an algorithmic power allocation method that minimizes the total transmitting power in transmitter diversity systems, provided that the instantaneous Bit-Error-Rate (BER) is not greater than a predetermined value. This method applies to many practical applications where the power transmitted by each antenna is constrained. We also provide closed-form expressions for the average total transmitted power for the case of two transmitting antennas operating in Rayleigh fading, and the average number of active antennas at the transmitter assuming Nakagami-m fading channels. Simulations and numerical results show that, compared to the conventional equi-power scheme, the proposed model offers a considerable reduction in the total transmitting power and the average number of active antennas, without loss in error performance.