Performance analysis of amplify-and-forward relaying with hybrid-ARQ in Rayleigh fading channels

Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is a well-known technique for improving system throughput and link performance of wireless communication systems, including cooperative communication systems. The amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying method is one of the most attractive cooperative diversity schemes because of its low complexity. In this article, the end-to-end performance in terms of block error rate (BLER) and normalized throughput of AF relaying with HARQ transmission under the Rayleigh fading channel is analyzed. Numerical results validate the proposed analysis and demonstrate the gain of HARQ schemes in AF relaying systems. This analytical method can be extended to the systems with other HARQ protocols and other cooperative relaying schemes.