7.

Diversity Techniques


References:

1. Schwartz, Bennett, and Stein, Communication Systems and Techniques, McGraw
Hill, 1966, Chapters 10-11:

- this is a classic for both analog and digital systems.


2. Proakis, Digital Communications, 3
rd
Edition, McGraw Hill, 1995, Section 14-4:

- only a subset of Ref [1] above.


3. M.Z. Win and J.H. Winters, Exact Error Probability Expression for Hybrid
Selection/Maximal-Ratio Combining in Rayleigh Fading: A Virtual Branch
Technique, Proc. IEEE Globecom, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dec. 1999:

- a very interesting paper as it formulates both selection and combining under a
single framework. The receiver performs maximal ratio combining for the L
(out of a total of N) branches with the largest instantaneous SNR. This
generalized selection/combining strategy can be potentially used in CDMA
system where the receiver searches for the L strongest multipaths and perform
RAKE combining.



In Chapters 4-6, we examined the bit error probability (BEP) performance
of BPSK and QPSK in Rayleigh flat fading channels. Generally it was
pretty dismal: even with ideal coherent detection, we need a signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR) of 24 dB just to hit a BEP of
3
10
e
P

= , and decreases only as
.
e
P
( )
1
/
b o
E N




7-1
The best way to gain major improvement is through diversity and the
argument runs like this.

- Suppose you have access to several independent fading channels, each
carrying the same signal


( ) s t

1
( ) g t
1
( ) n t
2
( ) g t
2
( ) n t
2
( ) r t

( )
N
g t
( )
N
n t

( )
N
r t

1
( ) r t

















- We know that errors on a single channel are associated with deep fades;
roughly speaking the BEP is the probability of being below some
problem SNR.

- If we have two channels, the probability that they are both below the
problem SNR is
2
e
P ; with N channels, its
N
e
P .

Thus we might expect behavior like the one shown in the figure below.
This would bring huge benefits; e.g., if it takes 40 dB to get
4
10
e
P

= with
one channel, then only 20 dB for two channels, 10 dB for four channels
7-2
And, in fact, it does behave much like this.




)
b o
E N
1; slope = 1 N =
2; slope = 2 N =
4; slope = 4 N =
/ (dB
( )
log
e
P














7.1 Sources of Diversity


With Doppler spread, the complex gain varies with time, so repeat the
information after a few multiples of 1/
d
f . This is time diversity. It consumes
extra transmission time.



BPF
2
( ) r t %
1
( ) r t %
LNA
IF
MIX
delay
LO







7-3
With delay spread, frequencies farther apart than the coherence bandwidth
experience independent values of frequency response. So we can transmit
the same information on separate carriers. This is frequency diversity. It
consumes extra bandwidth.




LNA
BPF
IF
MIX
2
( ) r t %
1
( ) r t %
1
LO
2
LO
MIX
IF









With multiple receive antennas spaced far enough apart, we have space
diversity. No need for extra transmission time or bandwidth. Unlike time,
frequency diversity, each signal contributes extra energy. The costs are
capital investment and physical space.


BPF
MIX
MIX
LNA
1
( ) r t %
2
( ) r t %
LNA
IF
BPF
LO
IF









Vertical and horizontal polarizations are often weakly correlated, even in
urban scattering.

7-4
Combinations of the two are common and the diversity is sometimes
implicit.



7.2 Organization of Diversity Receivers

How should the receiver make use of the multiple signals? There are two
general approaches:




1. combining, and

2. selection.

Generally, combining requires a receive chain per signal. We can combine
before or after detection.



7.2.1 Pre-detection Combining

In pre-detection combining, the receiver first combines coherently the
received IF signals and then passes the resultant signal to a detector.


Let the transmitted IF signal be

( )
( ) ( ) cos 2 ( )
c
s t A t f t t = + %


The received IF signals in the diversity branches are:

( )
( ) ( ) ( ) cos 2 ( ) ( ) ( ), 1, 2, ,
m m c m m
r t g t A t f t t t n t m = + + + = % % L N

7-5
where ( )
m
g t , ( )
m
t are respectively the magnitude and phase of the fading
gain in the m-th channel, and is the channels AWGN. Note that
( )
m
n t %
(
( ) ( )
m
g t t =
( )
m
g t
%
)

( )
m m
g t exp j
( )
m
n t
is a zero mean complex Gaussian process. All the
s and s are statistically independent.



The receiver multiplies by
( )
m
r t %

( )
( ) ( ) cos 2 ( )
m m c m
w t a t f t t = + %
,


These operations weight the received signals in the different branches, co-
phase them, and bring them down to baseband. The low-pass versions are
then summed and low-pass-filtered to form the signal . ( ) y t




( ) y t ( ) r t
( )
N
w t %
1
( ) r t %
2
( ) w t %
1
( ) w t %

2
( ) r t %
( )
N
r t %
Detector LPF


















When the additive noises in the diversity channels are independent and
identically distributed (iid), the optimal combining rule is

7-6
( ) ( )
m m
a t g t =


This choice maximizes the instantaneous SNR at the combiner output
and we have a maximum ratio combiner (MRC).
( ) y t

Note : the maximization of the instantaneous SNR in the combined signal
is closely related to SNR maximization in matched filters


When the noise in the diversity branches are not identically distributed, we
can still perform MRC, as long the relative noise levels (also known as the
noise power profile) are known. However in this case, the optimal weights
will be different from those provided above.




When the diversity branches are not identical and the noise power profile is
not known, the receiver can simply use equal gain combining (EGC). The
received signals in different branches will only be co-phased but not
amplitude scaled. In other word, the receiver set all

( ) 1
m
a t =



A pilot-tone (or tones) can be inserted into the transmitted spectrum to
assist the MRC and EGC receivers to coherently combined the IF signals in
the different branches.


Assume that the pilot-tone is located at the center of the transmitted
spectrum (this implicitly assumes that the data spectrum has a spectral
null). This means the received pilot tone in the channel (in the
absence of noise) is of the form
-th m

( )
( ) ( ) cos 2 ( ) ,
m m c m
p t g t f t t = + %


7-7
which can be used as a weight in the MRC.

For EGC, the received pilot tone in each channel can be further passed to
an automatic gain control (AGC) unit for amplitude normalization before
combining.

We had, however, seen earlier in Chapter 5 that there are a number of
problems associated with pilot-tone assisted modulations.


How about using pilot-symbols instead of pilot-tones? If you use pilot
symbols, you will eventually end up with a post-detection coherent
combining system.




Note that the above discussion on pre-detection coherent combining is
applicable to both analog and digital communications.



7.2.2 Post-detection Combining

While coherent detection is implicit in pre-detection combining systems,
post-detection combining can be used for coherent as well as in-coherent
detection. By definition, post-detection combining is done at baseband.




The received complex envelop in each diversity branch is

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ), 1, 2, ,
m m m
r t g t s t n t m N = + = K


where ( ) s t is the complex envelop of the transmitted signal, is the
complex gain in the m-th channel, and is the m-th channels additive
( )
m
g t
( )
m
n t
7-8
noise. All the s and s are independent zero mean complex
Gaussian processes.
( )
m
g t
k k
s = +
( )
m
n t
1, 2, m K
, ,
, ,
k m k
N
m k m k

k
y r w
g w
= =
(
2,
, ,
k k
g g L



N
For post-detection coherent combining of linear modulations (e.g. BPSK),
the general receiver structure is


, N k
w
, N k
r
2,k
r
1,k
r
k
y
, N k
y
2,k
y
1,k
y
t kT =
t kT =
t kT =

k
s
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
2,k
w
1,k
w

MF
MF
MF


Data
Detector












where ,
, , m k m m k
r g n
,
, =
, are the output of the matched filters
at , t = kT
k
s
is the k-th transmitted symbol, and are zero mean
complex Gaussian random variables representing fading and noise, and the
s are the weighting coefficients used by the combiner. It can be
easily shown that the combiner output is
, m k
g
, m k
n
, m k
w
k
y

( )
, , ,
1 1
, ,
1 1
N N
m m k k m k m k
m m
N
k m k m k
m m
g s n w
s w n
= =
= =
+
| |
= +
|
\ .




For any given pattern of , the instantaneous SNR is defined
as
)
1, ,
,
N k
g
7-9
2 2
1
, , , , 2
1 1
N N
m k m k m k m k
m m
g w E w n
= =
(
=
(
(




- When the s are iid, the set of weights that maximizes the
instantaneous SNR are
, m k
n

*
, , m k m k
w g =


In this case, we have post-detection MRC.

- When the combiner only performs co-phasing, i.e. when

*
,
,
,
m k
m k
m k
g
w
g
=


then we have a post-detection EGC.

- Pilot symbols can be used to assist the post-detection MRC and EGC
receivers to determine the weighting coefficients from the received
signals.


Exercise: Verify that when noises in the diversity channels are iid, the
instantaneous SNR of a post-detection coherent combiner is indeed
maximized when
*
, , m k m k
w g =
.



Exercise: Determine the optimal weighting coefficients when noises in the
diversity branches are iid (a uniform noise-power profile), but fading gains
in different branches, though independent, have different variances (a non-
uniform signal-power profile).



7-10



)
Exercise: Obtain a general expression(s) for the optimal weighting
coefficients of a post-detection coherent combiner when both the signal-
power and noise-power profiles are non-uniform.



For DPSK, the structure of the post-detection combining receiver is


, N k
r
2,k
r
1,k
r
k
y
, N k
y
2,k
y
1,k
y

t kT =
t kT =
t kT =
*
( )
*
( )
*
( )
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
MF

k
s
MF
MF
1
z

1
z

1
z

Essentially, the post-detection DPSK combining receiver is an
approximation of the post-detection MRC receiver. No explicit channel
estimation is needed. Instead, the receiver uses the previous received
sample in each branch as the estimate of the current fading gain in that
branch.



For FSK type of modulations, post-detection square law combining is
commonly used (see Tutorial 2, Q5). In the case of binary FSK with
waveforms (
1
( ) exp / s t j t = T
, and ( )
*
2
( ) exp / ( )
1
s t j t T = = s t 0 t T < , , the
receiver is:
7-11

























D
(1) M

+
( ) s t

*
1
( ) s t
*
1
( ) s t
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
*
1
( ) s t
2

( )
0
T
dt

( )
0
T
dt

( )
0
T
dt

*
2
( ) s t
*
2
( ) s t
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
*
2
( ) s t
2

( )
0
T
dt

( )
0
T
dt

( )
0
T
dt

(2) M














7.2.3 Selection Diversity


In selection diversity, the branch with the largest signal magnitude is
selected; see diagram below.



7-12


MIX
MIX
LNA
1
( ) r t %
IF
LO
MIX
LNA
2
( ) r t %
IF
LNA
( )
N
r t %
IF

Detect.
Select Largest
Magnitude























Selection is done at IF, i.e. pre-detection. Still requires a lot of parallel
hardware or at least a second rapid scanning receiver to check the unused
channels. However, compared to pre-detection MRC and EGC, there is no
need to perform channel tracking.




Selection can be done after detection, but not much point, since the receiver
might as well just perform post-detection combining.







7-13
7.3 Performance of MRC- BPSK




N
Theoretically, the BEP performance of pre-detection and post-detection
MRC are identical, since both assume ideal channel estimation.
Consequently, we focus on post-detection MRC in the analysis.


When noises in different branches are iid, the optimal MRC receiver is


, N k
r
2,k
r
1,k
r
k
y
, N k
y
2,k
y
1,k
y
t kT =
t kT =
t kT =

k
s
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
*
, N k
g
*
2,k
g
*
1,k
g

MF
MF
MF














Note the following :

- , is the k-th received sample in the m-
th branch.
, , ,
, 1, 2, ,
m k k m k m k
r s g n m = + = L

- { }
1
k
s
is the k-th transmitted BPSK symbol in all the branches.

- Each is a zero mean complex Gaussian random variable with
variance
, m k
g
2
g
and the different s are independent.
, m k
g

7-14
- The s are iid complex Gaussian random variables with zero mean
and variance .
, m k
n
o
N

- In practical implementation, each weighting coefficient is replaced
by the corresponding estimate provided by the channel estimator.
Need one estimator per branch. Can use the PSAM technique in Chapter
5 for channel estimation.
*
, m k
g
*
,

m k
g



The averaged received signal energy per branch is
2
g

. Without loss in
generality, we assume all diversity channels are energy conserving, i.e. the
average received energy in each branch,
2
g

, is same as the average

energy/bit,
s
E , that enters that branch. In other word,
2
s g
E =
.


Let be the transmitted energy per bit (different from
b
E
s
E which stands for
the average energy/bit that enters a diversity channel). In frequency and
time diversity systems, /
s b
E E N = because the actual transmitted energy
must be split equally among N diversity channels. This means the received
SNR per branch is

2
1
g
s b
s
o o o
E E
N N N N

| |
= = =
|
\ .


On the other hand for space diversity,
s b
E E =
and hence

2
g
s b
s
o o o
E E
N N N

= = =


Thus it is important to distinguish frequency/time diversity from space
diversity, as they lead to different relationships between
s
and .
Failure to do so may lead to wrong interpretation of the BEP performance
of the systems under investigation.
/
b o
E N
7-15
The combiner output can be written as

( )
* *
, , , , ,
1 1
2
*
, , ,
1 1


N N
k m k m k m k k m k
m m
N N
m k k m k m k
m m
k
y r g g s n g
g s g n
zs n
= =
= =
= = +
| |
= +
|
\ .
= +


m k

where
2
,
1 1
N N
m k m
m m
z g z
= =
= =


2
, m m k
z g =

and
*
, ,
1
N
m k m k
m
n g n
=
=

If is positive, then the receiver decides that , else it decides
that .
Re{ }
k
y
k
s =
1
k
s = +
1

We will use TWO different approaches to analyze the BEP performance of
the MRC system.

Without loss in generality, we set
1
k
s =
. This means an error is made when
is less than zero.
Re{ }
k
y


7.3.1 The Conditional Error Probability Approach

7-16
Consider the noise term
*
, ,
1
N
m k m k
m
n g n
=
=

. Conditioned on the fading gains

s, is a zero mean complex Gaussian random variable with a variance
of
, m k
g n


2
2 * * *
1 1 1
, , , , , , , , 2 2 2
1 1 1 1
2
,
1


N N N N
n m k m k j k j k m k j k m k j k
m j m j
N
o m k
m
o
E n E g n g n E g g n n
N g
N z

= = = =
=
(
| |
| |
(
= = =
( |
*
(
(
|

\ . (
\ .

| |
=
|
\ .
=

Conditioned on and
1
k
s =
1 2
( , , , )
N
z z z = Z K
, the probability that is less
than zero is
k
y

1
( )
N
m
m
e
n o
z
z z
P Q Q Q
N N
=
| |
| |
| |
|
= = =
|
|
|
|
|
\ .
\ .
\ .

Z
o
,

where the term inside the Q-function is the instantaneous SNR at the
combiner output. Since (see Section 4.1)
/
o
z N

/ 2 2
2
0
1
( ) exp
2sin ( )
x
Q x d

=
`
)

,

we can express the conditional error probability as

/ 2
2
1
0
/ 2
2
1
0
1 1
( ) exp
2 sin ( )
1
exp
2 sin ( )
N
e m
m
o
N
m
m
o
P z
N
z
d
N

=
=

=
`
)

=
`
)

Z

7-17
The product form of the integrand makes it quite easy to obtain the
unconditional error probability (see below). This is one of the nice features
provided by the alternative form of the Q-function.


The unconditional error probability is
( ) ( )
e e z
P P p d =

Z Z Z
, where is
the joint pdf of the
( )
z
p Z
2
, m m k
z g =
m
z
s. Since the fading gains in the different
diversity branches are independent, the s are also independent. This
means the joint pdf of the s is simply the product of the pdfs of the
individual s. As shown in Section 4.1, the pdfs of the s are
m
z
z
m
z
m


2 2
1
( ) exp
2 2
m
m
z m
g g
z
p z

| |
=
|
|
\ .


(this stems from the fact that each complex gain is zero mean complex
Gaussian with a variance of
, m k
g
2
g
). Subsequently,

2 2
1 1
1
( ) ( ) exp
2 2
m
N
N N
m
z z m
m m
g g
z
p p z

= =
| | |
= =
|
|
\ . \

Z
|
|
|
.


and the unconditional error probability becomes

1 0
0
/ 2
1
2 2 2
1 1
0 0
2 2 2
( ) ( )
1 1
exp exp
2 2 2 sin ( )
1 1
exp exp
2 2 2 sin ( )
N
m
e e z
N
N N
m m
N
m m g g o z z
m m
m
m g g o z
P P p d
z z
d dz dz
N
z z
dz
N

=
=

= =
= =

=
| |
| | | | | |

|
=
| | | `
| | |
|
)
\ . \ . \ .
\ .
| |
| |

= |
| `
|
|
)
\ .
\ .

Z Z Z
L L
/ 2
1
0
/ 2
2
0
1
1
sin
N
N
s
d
d

=
=

| |
= +
|
\ .

7-18
where
2
/
s g
N =
o



is the branch SNR.



Except for small diversity order N, it is cumbersome to evaluate the above
integral analytically. However, evaluating it numerically is very straight
forward.


It is also relatively straight forward to generalize the above error
probability expression to the case of a non-uniform signal-power profile
(i.e. when the average received signal energy in the different branches are
not identical).


When the branch SNR,
s

, is fixed, the integrand decreases monotonically

as N increases. In other word, the error probability for space diversity can
be made, in theory, arbitrarily small.


For large branch SNR, i.e.
2
1 sin
s
>> >
, then

/ 2 / 2 2
2
0 0
1 sin 1 1
sin
1 1 1 3 (2 1)

2 2 4 (2 )
2 1
1 1

4
N
N
e
N
s s
N
s
N N
s
P d
N
N
N
N

d

= =
| |
=
|

\ .

| |
=
|

\ .

L
L


where
!
!( )!
a
a
b b a b
| |
=
|

\ .
. This equation is the same as [Proakis, Eqn. 4-4-18]
and it clearly indicates that the error probability decreases at a rate equal to
the inverse N-th power of the branch SNR.


7-19
How about frequency/time diversity, what happens when the diversity
order tends to infinity? Consider the term


2 2
/
1 1
sin sin
N N
s b
E N
w
N
o

| | |
= + = +
|
\ . \
|
|
.


The natural log of w is
2
/
ln( ) ln 1
sin
b o
E N
w N
N
| |
= +
|
\ .

When , N
2
/
0
sin
b o
E N
N

=


Consequently
( )
2 3
ln 1
2 3

+ = + + L

and
2
/
ln( )
sin
b o
E N
w N

=
,
or
2
/
exp
sin
b o
E N
w

`
)


Since the integrand in the BEP expression is
1
w

, this means

/ 2
2
0
/ 2 1
exp ,
sin
b o b
e
o
E N E
P d Q
N

| |
| |
=
|
|
|
\ .
\ .

N


In other word, the BEP in fading channels with infinite number of
time/frequency diversity branches equals the BEP in AWGN channel.


7-20
7.3.2 The Characteristic Function Approach



)
*
g
,k
A small problem with the BEP expression in Section 7.3.1 is that numerical
integration is required (for large N).

An analytical expression for the BEP of MRC can be obtained via the
characteristic function approach.


Consider again the decision variable at the combiner output. When the
transmitted bit is , it can be written as
k
y
1
k
s =

( ) (
* *
, , , , , , , ,
1 1 1
*
1

N N N
k m k m k m k k m k m k m k m k m k
m m m
N
m m
m
y r g g s n g g n
X Y
= = =
=
= = + = +
=

where
, m m k m
X g n = +
,
and
, m m
Y
k
g =


Note that the covariance matrix of
m
X and Y is
m

( ) ( )
, ,
* * * * *
1 1
, , , 2 2
,
2 2
g g
2 2
g g
=
m k m k m
m m m m k m k
m k m
o
g n X
E X Y E g n g
g Y
N

m k
+ ( ( | | | |
= = +
( | ( |
( \ . \ .
( +
(
(

R




7-21

m m
Let
( ) ( )
* *
1
1
2Re

N
k m m
m
N
m
m
D y X Y X
D
=
=
= = +
=

Y

where
* * * *
0 1
1 0
m
m m m m m m m
m
X
D X Y X Y X Y
Y
( (
( = + =
( (




is a quadratic form of the zero mean complex Gaussian random variables
m
X and Y .
m


Using the results from Appendix 7A, the characteristic function of is
m
D

1 2
1 2
( )
( )(
m
p p
s
) s p s p
=


where
( )
1
1
1
1 1
2
s
o
p
N

= +

( )
1
2
1
1 1
2
s
o
p
N

= + +
,


and
2
/
s g
N =
o
D is the branch SNR. Since
1
N
m
m
D
=
=

and the s are

independent, this means the characteristic function of D is
m
D

1 2
1
1 2
( ) ( )
( )( )
N
N
D m
m
p p
s s
s p s p
=
| |
= =
|

\ .



7-22
Since , the receiver makes a wrong a decision if . This error
probability can be determined by first taking the inverse Laplace transform
of
1
k
s =
( )
0 D <
D
s to obtain the pdf of D, and then integrating this pdf from D =
to . From Appendix 7A, 0 D =


| |
1
1 2
0
1 2 2 1
1
Pr 0
N j
N
j
N j
p p
D
j p p p p

=
+ | | | | | |
< =
| | |

\ . \ . \ .

.

Consequently,

| |
1
1 1
0
1
1 1 1 1
Pr 0 1 1
2 2
1 1
N j
N
e
j
s s
N j
P D
j

=
(
| | |
+
| |
( | = < = +
|
|
(
+ + \ .
\ . \

(
|
( |
|
(
.

Check: For N=1 (no diversity), the result is identical to the one in Section
4.1. Also the result is identical to Eqn. 14-4-5 in [Proakis].



The figures below show the BEP of MRC-BPSK with finite diversity order.
Both space and frequency/time diversity techniques are considered.

Note:

- The BEP of coherent BPSK in AWGN channel is
( )
2 /
b o
N Q E .

- Asymptotic slope is ( ) /
N
b o
E N

as predicted in Section 7.1

- In frequency/time diversity, the split signals are combined with no lost
energy.

- In space diversity, additional power from each branch saves tens of dB!

7-23
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
10
-8
10
-6
10
-4
10
-2
10
0
Eb/No (dB)
B
E
P

o
f

M
R
C
-
B
P
S
K


BEP of MRC-BPSK with frequency/time diversity. The various
curves (from top) are for diversity orders 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and the
AWGN channel.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
10
-8
10
-6
10
-4
10
-2
10
0
Eb/No (dB)
B
E
P


BEP of MRC-BPSK with space diversity. The color curves (from
top) are for diversity orders 1, 2, 4, 8, 16. The black curve is for the
AWGN channel.


7-24
7.4 Performance of Post-Detection Combining - Binary DPSK



)

)
The functional block diagram of the post-detection binary DPSK receiver is
shown below.


1,k
r
1,k
y
, N k
r
2,k
r
k
y
, N k
y
2,k
y

t kT =
t kT =
t kT =
*
( )
*
( )
*
( )
2
( ) r t
( )
N
r t
1
( ) r t
MF

k
b
MF
MF
1
z

1
z

1
z

The decision variable at the combiner output is

( )(
*
*
, , 1 , , , 1 1 , 1
1 1
N N
k m k m k m k k m k m k k m k
m m
y r r g s n g s n

= =
= = + +



If is greater than zero, the receiver decides that the k-th information
bit is , else it decides that
( Re
k
y
k
b =1 1
k
b =
.



As in the past, we set and
1
1
k
s

= 1
k
s =
in the BEP analysis. This means the
information bit is b and the decision variable becomes 1
k
=
k
y



7-25
( )(
*
, , , 1 , 1
1
*
1

N
k m k m k m k m k
m
N
m m
m
y g n g n
X Y

=
=
= + +
=

)
k


where
, , m m k m
X g n = +

and
, 1 , 1 m m k m k
Y g n

= +


Using the results from Appendix 4A or Appendix 7A, the covariance
matrix of each pair of
m
X and Y is
m

( )
( )
* *
1
2
, ,
* * * *
, , , 1 , 1
, 1 , 1
2 2
g g
2 2
g g
1

2
=
m
m m m
m
m k m k
m k m k m k m k
m k m k
o
o
X
E X Y
Y
g n
E g n g
g n
N J
J N




(
| |
=
( |
\ .

+
| |
= +
( |
+
(
\ .

( +
(
+
(

R
n
(
+


where (2 )
o d
J J f T , is the zero-order Bessel function, ( )
o
J
d
f
is the
maximum Doppler frequency, and 1/T is the bit rate.




m m
We will use the characteristic function approach to determine the BEP. Let
( ) ( )
* *
1
1
2Re

N
k m m
m
N
m
m
D y X Y X
D
=
=
= = +
=

Y

7-26
where
* * * *
0 1
1 0
m
m m m m m m m
m
X
D X Y X Y X Y
Y
( (
( = + =
( (




is a quadratic form of the zero mean complex Gaussian random variables
m
X and Y .
m



Using the results from Appendix 4A (or Appendix 7A), the characteristic
function of is
m
D


1 2
1 2
( )
( )(
m
p p
s
) s p s p
=


where
( )
1
1 1
2 1 (1 )
o s
p
N J

=
+ +

( )
2
1 1
2 1 (1 )
o s
p
N J
=
+



and
s

is the branch SNR. Since

1
N
m
m
D
=
= D

and the s are independent,

this means the characteristic function of D is
m
D

1 2
1
1 2
( ) ( )
( )( )
N
N
D m
m
p p
s s
s p s p
=
| |
= =
|

\ .




Given that the information bit is b 1
k
= , the receiver makes a wrong a
decision if . From Appendix 7A, 0 D <


7-27
| |
1
1 2
0
1 2 2 1
1
Pr 0
N j
N
j
N j
p p
D
j p p p p

=
+ | | | | | |
< =
| | |

\ . \ . \ .

.

Substituting
1
p and
2
p into the above equation yields

| |
1
1 1
0
1
1 1
Pr 0 1 1
2 1 2 1
N j
N
e
j
s s
N j
J J
P D
j

=
( + | | | | |
= < = +
( | |
+ +
\ . \ . \

(
|
( |
.

Check: For N=1 (no diversity), the result is identical to the one in Section
4.3.1.



Results for frequency/time diversity at 0
d
f T = and 0.03
d
f T = are shown in the
next two figures.

Note:

- BEP of binary DPSK in AWGN channel is
/
1
2
b
E No
e

.

- Diversity also improves the error floor.

- Curves for large N are poorer than smaller N at low SNR. The reason:
splitting the power makes SNR per branch very low. This means the
reference signals provided by the previous received samples are too
noisy to allow a good coherent combination. We dont recover all the
transmitted power.

7-28
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
10
-8
10
-6
10
-4
10
-2
10
0
Eb/No (dB)
B
E
P


BEP of binary DPSK combining with time/frequency diversity. The
color curves (from top) are for diversity orders 1, 2, 4, 8, 16. The
black curve is for the AWGN channel. The fade rate is . 0
d
f T =


0 5 10 15 20 25 30
10
-8
10
-6
10
-4
10
-2
10
0
Eb/No (dB)
B
E
P


BEP of binary DPSK combining with time/frequency diversity. The
color curves (from top) are for diversity orders 1, 2, 4, 8, 16. The
black curve is for the AWGN channel. The fade rate is . 0.03
d
f T =
7-29
Results for space diversity at 0
d
f T = are shown below. As opposed to
frequency/time diversity, the different curves do not cross over because the
extra power gives a big boost.


0 5 10 15 20 25 30
10
-8
10
-6
10
-4
10
-2
10
0
Eb/No (dB)
B
E
P


BEP of binary DPSK combining with space diversity. The color
curves (from top) are for diversity orders 1, 2, 4, 8, 16. The black
curve is for the AWGN channel. The fade rate is 0
d
f T = .



7.5 Space-Time Code A Transmit Diversity Technique

References

[1] S. Alamouti, A simple transmit diversity technique for wireless communications,
IEEE J. Select. Areas Commun., vol. 16, pp. 14511458, Oct. 1998.

[2] V. Tarokh, N. Seshadri and A. R. Calderbank, Space-time codes for high data rate
wireless communication: Performance criterion and code construction, IEEE Trans.
Inform. Theory, vol. 44, pp. 744765, Mar. 1998.

[3] V. Tarokh, H. Jafarkhani and A. R. Calderbank, Space-time block codes from
orthogonal designs IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 45, pp. 14561467, July 1999.
7-30
[4] V. Tarokh and H. Jafarkhani, A differential detection scheme for transmit diversity,
IEEE J. Select. Areas Commun., vol. 18, pp. 11691174, July 2000.

[5] B. Hughes, Differential space-time modulation, IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol.
46, pp. 25672578, Nov. 2000.




We considered earlier two transmit diversity techniques

o frequency diversity - repeating the information in frequency domain.

o time diversity repeating the information in time.



Another possibility is to repeat the same information using multiple
transmit antennas.



We focus on space-time (ST) codes with two transmit antennas [1]. For
convenience, we assume only one receive antenna.



The k-th transmitted symbols from the Antenna 1 and Antenna 2 are
denoted by
1,k
s
and
2,k
s
respectively, where each , is a MPSK
symbol from the signal set
,
, 1, 2
i k
s i =
{ }
2 /
0,1, , 1
j m M
S e m M

= = K .

These symbols are generated at a rate of
1/
at each antenna.
T




7-31
The following encoding rules are proposed by Alamouti [1]:

o The time-axis is divided into ST encoding interval of width
T 2
s
T =
. In
the m-th encoding interval, the symbols transmitted by Antenna 1 and
Antenna 2 are and ( )
1,2 1,2 1
,
m m
s s
+
( )
2,2 2,2 1
,
m m
s s
+
.

o The first symbols in each interval,
1,2 2,2
and
m m
s s
, are chosen randomly
(and independently) from the signal set S (for coherent codes only).

o The second symbols must satisfy:

*
1,2 1 2,2
*
2,2 1 1,2
,
.
m m
m m
s s
s s
+
+
=
= +




The 4 MPSK symbols transmitted by the two antennas in the m-th interval
can be conveniently arranged into the ST symbol matrix

1,2 2,2 1,2 2,2
* *
2,2 1,2 1,2 1 2,2 1
m m m m
m
m m m m
s s s s
s s s s
+ +
( (
= =
( (


s
.

An interesting property of this matrix is that

2
2
m m
= s s I


for any
1,2m
s
and
2,2m
s
, where is an identity matrix of size 2.
2
I

We will call the coding structure an Alamouti ST structure.



7-32
The transmitted signals at the two antennas are:

,
( ) ( ), 1, 2.
i i k
k
s t s p t kT i

=
= =

where
( ) p t
is a SQRT pulse with unit-energy.



The received signal is

1 1 2 2
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) r t g t s t g t s t n t = + +


where and are the complex gains in the two links, and is
the AWGN introduced at the receivers front end.
1
( ) g t
2
( ) g t ( ) n t

The fading gains are iid zero-mean complex Gaussian with variance
2
g

.

The psd of is .
( ) n t
0
N



The fading gains are assumed constant within each ST interval (of length
2T) but can vary from interval to interval according to the Jakes fading
model.

The fading gains in the two links in the m-th ST interval are denoted by
and
1,m
g
2,m
g respectively. They have variance
2
g

.



After matched filtering, and sampling at time 2 t mT = and ,
the samples
(2 1) t m = + T
7-33

1,2 2,2 1, 2 2
1,2 1 2,2 1 2, 2 1 2 1
1,2 2,2 1, 2
* *
2,2 1,2 2, 2 1

m m m m m
m m m m m
m m m m
m m m m
s s g r n
s s g r n
s s g n
s s g n
+ + + +
+
( ( (
= +
( ( (

( (
(
(

(
= +
( ( (

are obtained, where and
2m
n
2 1 m
n
+
are the filtered noise samples. The two
noise samples are iid and have a variance of .
0
N



The last equation can be written in matrix form as

m m m m
= + r s g n
,

where is the m-th ST symbol defined earlier, and
m
s

1, 2 2
2, 2 1 2 1
, ,
m m m
m m m
m m m
g r n
g r n
+ +
( (
= = =
( (

r g n
(
(

(
(

are respectively the received vector, the fading gain vector, and the noise
vector.



The relationships between the transmitted and received samples can also be
written as

1, 2, 1,2 2 2
* * * *
2, 1, 2,2 2 1 2 1
m m m m m
m m m m m
g g s r n
g g s r n
+ +
( ( (
= +
( ( (

7-34
With an ideal coherent detector, we can multiply both sides of the last
equation by the matrix

*
1, 2,
*
2, 1,
m m
m
m m
g g
g g
(
=
(

G

and obtain

( )
*
1, 2 1, 2,
* *
2, 2 1 2, 1,
* *
1, 2, 1,2 2 1, 2, 1, 2,
* * * * *
2, 1, 2,2 2 1 2, 1, 2, 1,
2 2
1,2
1, 2,
2


m m m m
m m m m
m m m m m m m m
m m m m m m m m
m
m m
y r g g
y r g g
g g s n g g g g
g g s n g g g g
s
g g
s
+
+
(
( (
=
( ( (

( (
( ( (
= +
( ( ( ( (



= +
1,
,2 2,
,
m
m m
e
e
( (
+
( (



where and are conditional Gaussian with variance
1,m
e
2,m
e

( )
2 2
2
0 1, 2,
.
e m
N g g = +
m


This means the conditional BEP (assume BPSK) is

( )
2 2
1, 2,
1, 2,
0
,
m m
b m m
g g
P g g Q
N
| |
+
|
=
|
|
\ .
,

just like that of the post-detection MRC receiver on pp 7-17.



What happens if the receiver does not know the channel gains?

In this case, use differential ST codes.
7-35
In a differential ST coding system, the data ST symbol

1, 2,
* *
2, 1,
m m
m
m m
b b
b b
(
=
(

b


is differentially encoded into the transmitted ST symbol according to

1 m m m
= s b s
,

where (and thus ) has an Alamouti structure.
1 m
s
m
s



Exercise: Show that if A and B are two 2 by 2 matrices with an Alamouti
structure, then their product AB also has an Alamouti structure.



Example: Full rate differential ST-BPSK code

o The data ST symbols are from the set

1 2 3 4
1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
, , ,
0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
b
S
+ +
( ( ( (
= = = = =
`
( ( ( (
+ +

)
B B B B

while the transmitted ST symbols are from the set

1 2 3 4
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
, , ,
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
a
S
+ + + +
( ( ( (
= = = = =
`
( ( ( (
+ + + +

)
A A A A
.

The detail encoding rule, with bit-assignment, are given in the table
below



7-36

Previous Output / Current Output
Input
1
A
2
A
3
A
4
A
1
B (0,0)
1
A
2
A
3
A
4
A
2
B (1,1)
2
A
1
A
4
A
3
A
3
B (1,0)
3
A
4
A
2
A
1
A
4
B (0,1)
4
A
3
A
1
A
2
A

o Note that components of the transmitted ST symbols are binary ( ) 1
.
The data ST symbols, straightly speaking, do not possess this property.

o Using the vector signal model, the received signal vectors in the m-th
and the (m-1)-th intervals are :

1
m
m m m m m
= +
s
r b s g n
123

and
1 1 1 m m m m 1
= + r s g n


respectively. The receiver computes the metrics

{ }

1
2Re 1, 2,..., 4,
i m i m
i

= = r B r


and chooses the symbols with the largest metric as the most likely data
symbol.

o Assume that the data symbol is . Then under the assumptions of static
fading and no noise, the metric
1
B
1

becomes

7-37
( ) ( )
{ }
( )( )
{ }
{ }
( )

1 1 1 1

1 1

2 2
1, 1,
2Re
2Re
4Re
4
m m m m
m m m m
m m
m m
g g

=
=
=
= +
g s B B s g
g s s g
g g
1


2 1
=
,

3 4 1
0 (for any )
m


= = s
.

Thus the detector indeed is able to discriminate the correct data symbol
from the rest.



Exercise: Verify that
3 4
0 for any
m 1


= = s
in the binary differential ST
code above.



Exercise: If the differential encoding rule is modified to for
the binary differential ST code above, how should the metric be modified?
1 m m
= s s b
m



Differential detection is 3 dB worse than ideal coherent detection.





7-38
Appendix 7A: Quadratic Form of Diversity Systems


As shown in Section 2.3 and Appendix 2A, the probability density function
(pdf) of a set of zero mean correlated complex Gaussian random variables

1 2
( , , , )
t
K
z z z = z L

is
( )
1
1
2
1
( ) exp
(2 )
z
K
p

= z z
R
R z


where

1
2
E =

R z (

z
is the covariance matrix of z. In addition, the
characteristic function of the quadratic form

Q = z Fz

is
( ) ( )
1
1
2
1
( ) exp exp
(2 )
1

2
Q
K
s s d
s

=
=
+

z R z z Fz z
R
I RF


where it is understood that

= F F . As stated before, the characteristic

function is the Laplace transform of the pdf.



We are interested here in the case of 2 K = , a covariance matrix of

( )
1 11 12 * * *
1
1 2 12 21 2
2 21 22
( )
z
E z z
z



(
| | (
= =
( | (
\ .

R =
,

and
7-39
0 1
1 0
(
=
(

F

As shown in Assignment 1, Q2,

1 2
1 2
1 2 1 2
1 2 1 2 1 2
( )
( )( )
1 1

( ) (
Q
p p
s
s p s p
p p p p
) p p s p p p s p
=

= +



where

( ) ( )
( )
( )
2
2
12 12 11 22 12
1
2
11 22 12
Re Re
0
2
p


+ (

= <

Left hand pole

( ) ( )
( )
( )
2
2
12 12 11 22 12
2
2
11 22 12
Re Re
0
2
p


+ + (

= >

right hand pole

Furthermore, the pdf of Q, which is the inverse Laplace transform of
( )
Q
s
,
is

{ }
1 2
1 2
1 2
( ) ( ) ( )
p Q p Q
Q
p p
p Q e U Q e U Q
p p
= +

where is the unit step function. We are often interested in evaluating
the probability that Q < 0 (as in BEP analysis). In these circumstances,
only the second term in the pdf is relevant. Integrating this second term
from negative infinity to zero yields
( ) U

| |
2
0
1 2 1
1 2 1 2
Pr 0
p Q
p p p
Q e dQ
p p p p

< = =


7-40
In some diversity systems, the decision variable D after combining has a
characteristic function


( )
1 2
1 2
( )( )
N
D
p p
s
s p s p
(
=
(


,


which is the N-th power of
( )
Q
s
. This occurs when all the diversity
branches are independent and have identical statistics.

Again, we want to determine | |
Pr 0 D <
.



We first express ( )
D
s as a partial-fraction expansion:

( ) ( )
( )
1 1
2 1
1 1
2
1
( )
1
( 1)
N N
m m
D
m m
m m
m
N N
m
m
m
m
m m
a b
s
s p s p
b
a
s p
s p
= =
= =
= +

| |
= +
|

\ .




where , , , are the expansion coefficients. We will
determine these coefficients later on.
m
a
m
b 1, 2, , m = K N




From table of inverse Laplace transforms,

2
1
1
2
1
LT ( )
( 1)!
m m
p D
D
e U D
s p m

| |
=
` |

\ .

)


7-41
1
1
1
1
1
LT ( )
( 1)!
m
m
p D
D
e U D
s p m

| |

=
` |

\ .

)


This means the pdf of D is

2 1
1
1
1 1
( ) ( 1) ( ) ( )
( 1)! ( 1)!
m
m
N N
p D p D m
D m m
m m
D
D
p D a e U D b e U D
m m

= =
= +






Since our goal is to determine the probability that D is less than zero, so
focus only on the first series. It can be easily shown that


( )
2
1
0
2
1
( )
( 1)!
m
p D
m
D
D
e U D dD
m
p

=
=

.

Consequently

| |
2
1
0 0
1
1
2
Pr 0 ( ) ( 1)
( 1)!
1
( 1)
m
N
p D m
D m
m
m
N
m
m
m
D
D p D dD a e dD
m
a
p

=

=
< =

| |
=
|
\ .

Thus if the s are known, we can calculate
m
a
| |
Pr 0 D < .



To determine the s, we first multiply
m
a ( )
D
s by (
2
N
)
s p
0
( ) F s
to obtain the
function . There are two forms for , one obtained ( ) p
0 2
( ) ( )
N
D
F s s s =

7-42
from the original expression of ( )
D
s , and a second one obtained from its
partial fraction expansion:
N
N
= =
N m
1
( )
N s
F
=
0
s p =

`
)
( )
j
j
d
ds
=
) s
( )
1
N j

( )
( )
1 2
0 1 2
1
( ) ( )
( )
N
N
p p
F s p p s p
s p

1
and
( ) ( )
( )
0 2 2
1 1
1
( )
N N
N
m
m
m
m m
b
F s a s p s p
s p = =
| |
= + |
|

\ .




From the second expression for , we can easily deduce that
0
( ) F s
2
0
( ) ,
N s
a F s
=
=
p
2
s
2
1 0
( )
s p
d
a F s
ds
=

= =
`
)
p
,
2
2
2
2 0 2 2
1 1
( ) ( )
2 2
N s p
s p
d
a F s F s
ds
=
=

= =
`
)
, or
in general,


2
2
1 1
( ) ( )
! !
j
N j j s p
j
d
a F s F
j ds j
=
= =
,
0,1, , 1 j N = K
s

where
0
( )
j
F s F s


is the j-th derivative of
0
( ) F s
.



From the first expression of , we can deduce that
0
( F


( ) ( )
( )
1 2 1
( 1)!
( )
( 1)!
N
j
N j
F s p p s p
N
+ +
=

j

7-43
This means

( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )
2
( )
1 2 2 1
1 2
2 1
2 1
1
( )
!
( 1)!
1
!( 1)!
1
1
N j j s p
N j N
N
j j
a F s
j
N j
p p p p
j N
N j
p p
p p
j p p
=
+

=
+
=

+ | | | |
=
| |

\ . \ .
j





Finally, substituting
N j
a

into the expression for Pr[ 0] D < yields









| |
( ) ( )
1
1 0
2 2
1
1 2
2 1
0
2 1 2
1
1 2
0
1 2 2 1
1 1
Pr 0 ( 1) ( 1)
1
1
1 ( 1)
1

m N j
N N
m N j
m N j
m j
N N
N
j j
N j
j
N
N
j
D a a
p p
N j
p p
p p
j p p p
N j
p p
j p p p p

= =
j

=
| | | |
< = =
| |
\ . \ .
+ | | | | | |
=
| | |

\ . \ . \ .
+ | | | | |
=
| |

\ . \ . \

j
|
|
.



- Note that the term in front of the summation operator is simply
| | Pr 0 Q <
raised to the N-th power.

- It should be emphasized again that the above equation is valid only for
independent and identically distributed diversity branches.




7-44