Physical‐layer network coding with limited feedback using orthogonal space–time block codes

This paper introduces limited feedback technique into physical‐layer network coding (PLNC) scheme, which is the most spectrally efficient protocol in two‐way relay channels, consisted of one relay and two end nodes (sources). Decode‐and‐forward (DF) and partial‐decode‐and‐forward (PDF) strategies are considered for PLNC, and all nodes are assumed to have two antennas to allow transmission by Alamouti's orthogonal space–time block code to provide diversity. In DF, by limited feedback, one of the sources is informed about instantaneous channel state information (CSI) to increase the bit error rate (BER) performance at relay. The closed‐form upper and lower bounds on the bit error probability are derived for binary phase‐shift keying (BPSK) and quadrature PSK (QPSK) modulations and approved via computer simulations. In PDF strategy, each source has to know CSI between relay and the other source for decoding, which causes extra protocol complexity. Moreover, for the system in which all nodes have two antennas, classical PDF strategy does not satisfy orthogonality at the end nodes. Therefore, in this paper, a modified‐PDF (MPDF) strategy with limited feedback is proposed. In MPDF, for decoding at the end nodes, differential phase information between channel fading coefficients having maximum amplitudes is fed back to the sources by relay. This approach enables single‐symbol decoding, besides full diversity, and sources do not need to know CSI between relay and the other source. It is shown via computer simulations that MPDF strategy provides significantly better BER performance than the classical PDF for BPSK and QPSK modulations.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.