Quantifying the Accuracy of High SNR BER

Approximation of MPSK and MDPSK in Fading

Channels
Xuegui Song and Julian Cheng
School of Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
Email: {xuegui.song, julian.cheng}@ubc.ca

Abstract—We study the relation between the exact bit-error where Pb (γ) is the conditional BER over an AWGN channel
rate (BER) and the approximate BER, which is obtained by divid- and fγ (γ) is the probability density function (PDF) of the
ing the symbol-error rate by the number of bits per symbol, for receiver SNR per symbol γ.
M -ary phase-shift keying (MPSK) and M -ary differential PSK
(MDPSK) in fading channels. The asymptotic BER estimation For Gray coded MPSK modulation, the conditional BER
error of the approximate BER is quantified analytically through Pb, MPSK (γ) over an AWGN channel is given by [4]
our asymptotic analysis. Our results show that the accuracy of M −1
the approximate BER of both MPSK and MDPSK depends on the 1 X
fading severity. We also show analytically that the approximate Pb, MPSK (γ) = dk Pk (γ) (2a)
log2 M
BER is excellent for both MPSK and MDPSK in large signal-to- k=1
noise ratio regimes for an additive white Gaussian noise channel. where dk is the average distance spectrum given as
   log2 M   
k k  X k
 − k 

I. I NTRODUCTION dk = 2  − + 2 (2b)
M M   2i i
2 
i=2
For Gray coded M -ary phase-shift keying (MPSK) and M -
ary differential PSK (MDPSK), the bit-error rate (BER) is where |x| takes the absolute value of x and bxe rounds x to the
usually approximated by dividing the symbol-error rate (SER) nearest integer. In (2a), Pk (γ) is the probability of detecting
by the number of bits per symbol [1], [2]. This approximation the kth (k = 1, 2, · · · , M −1) symbol when the zeroth symbol
has been shown to be excellent in large signal-to-noise ratio is transmitted (assuming all symbols are equally likely to be
(SNR) regimes for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) transmitted), and it is given in [5, eq. 8.29] as
channels [2], [3]. It is also reported in [3] that except for small Z mk π  
1 Ak γ
SNR values this approximate BER is accurate for MDPSK in Pk (γ) = exp − 2 dθ
both Rayleigh and Rician channels. However, the conclusions 2π 0 sin θ
Z nk π    (2c)
are made from numerical observations. To the authors’ best Bk γ
− exp − 2 dθ
knowledge, no prior work has quantified analytically the 0 sin θ
relation between the exact BER and the approximate BER where mk = (M − 2k + 1)/M , nk = M − 2k − 1/M and
for MPSK and MDPSK in general fading channels. Without  
such an analytical tool, one does not know the accuracy of the (2k − 1)π
Ak = sin2 (2d)
approximate BER before numerical investigation. It is not clear M
 
when such simple approximate BER can be used to estimate (2k + 1)π
the exact BER. In this work, we fill this gap by quantifying Bk = sin2 . (2e)
M
the asymptotic BER estimation error analytically to investigate
the accuracy of BER approximations of MPSK and MDPSK in For Gray coded MDPSK modulation, the conditional BER
fading channels. A standard procedure is introduced to assess Pb, MDPSK (γ) over an AWGN channel for M = 4, 8, 16, 32 are
the accuracy of BER approximations of MPSK and MDPSK given in [5, eq. 8.86] as
   
in any wireless fading channels with finite diversity order. 1 π  5π
With the developed analytical tool, one can decide whether the Pb, DQPSK (γ) = F ,γ − F ,γ (3a)
2 4 4
approximate BER is applicable based on the fading severity.    
1 π  13π
Pb, 8DPSK (γ) = F ,γ − F ,γ (3b)
II. G ENERAL A NALYSIS 3 8 8
For a digital communication system over wireless fading 1
 
π 

3π

channels, the average BER can be obtained as Pb, 16DPSK (γ) = F ,γ + F ,γ
4 16 16
Z ∞     (3c)
9π 13π
Pb = Pb (γ)fγ (γ) dγ (1) +F ,γ − F ,γ
0 16 16

978-1-4799-3972-5/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE 105

    
1 π  3π
Pb, 32DPSK (γ) = F ,γ + F ,γ where the conditional SERs of MPSK and MDPSK over an
5 32 32
      AWGN channel are respectively given as [6]
9π 13π 17π
+F ,γ − F ,γ + F ,γ (3d) 1 ηπ
Z 
κγ

32 32 32 Pe, MPSK (γ) = exp − 2 dθ (9b)

19π
 
23π
 
29π
 π 0 sin θ
+F ,γ − F ,γ − F ,γ
32 32 32 and
Z ηπ  
where 1 κγ
Pe, MDPSK (γ) = exp − π dθ (9c)
sin ψ
Z π/2
exp (−γ(1 − cos ψ cos θ)) π 0 1 + cos M cos θ
F (ψ, γ) = dθ. (3e)
π 0 1 − cos ψ cos θ where η = (M − 1)/M and κ = sin2 (π/M ). Substituting
We observe from (3a)-(3d) that these BER expressions are (9b) and (4) into (9a), we obtain the approximate asymptotic
all functions of F (ψ, γ) although a unified expression is not BER of MPSK as
available for all M values. Thus, in this paper, we will analyze
 
∞ cΓ (t + 1) g (η, t) 1
the performance of 8DPSK as an example and omit the cases P̂b, MPSK = +o . (10)
π log2 M κt+1 γ t+1 γ t+1
for other M values due to the similarity of analysis.
When γ → 0, suppose the PDF of the receiver SNR γ can Substituting (9c) and (4) into (9a), we obtain the approximate
be written as asymptotic BER of MDPSK as
cγ t
f (γ) = t+1 + o γ t

 
(4) cΓ (t + 1) f (η, t) 1
γ P̂b,∞MDPSK = + o (11)
π log2 M κt+1 γ t+1 γ t+1
where γ is the average SNR and a function f (x) is o(g(x)) if
where
lim f (x)/g(x) = 0. In (4), the parameters c and t are two
x→0 Z ηπ
finite constants which depend on fading distributions. The
 π t+1
f (η, t) , 1 + cos θ cos dθ. (12)
parameter t is related to the fading severity for a single- 0 M
branch system, and a larger t indicates a weaker fading In order to quantify the gap between BER curves obtained
environment. Substituting (2a), (2c), and (4) into (1), we obtain using the exact BER and the approximate BER, we define the
the asymptotic BER of MPSK as asymptotic BER estimation error as the difference between
M −1 the required SNR values for the exact asymptotic BER and
1 X
Pb,∞MPSK = dk (Pk∞ (mk , Ak ) − Pk∞ (nk , Bk )) the approximate asymptotic BER to achieve the same BER
2π log2 M level. We comment that the exact BER estimation error at any
k=1
(5a) BER level (or equivalently any SNR level) will be greater than
where or equal to the asymptotic BER estimation error. Using (5a),
  (5b), and (10), we derive the asymptotic BER estimation error
cΓ (t + 1) g (mk , t) 1
Pk∞ (mk , Ak ) = +o (5b) for MPSK as
At+1
k γ
t+1 γ t+1  1
M −1    t+1
t+1 g(mk ,t) g(nk ,t)
P
and where dk κ − B t+1 
 At+1
k k
mk π
eMPSK = 10 log  k=1
Z
dB.
 
g(mk , t) , (sin2 θ)t+1 dθ. (6) 2g (η, t)

 
0
Substituting (3b), (3e), and (4) into (1), we obtain the asymp- (13)
totic BER of 8DPSK as
1
   Using (7a), (7b), and (11), we derive the asymptotic BER
∞ π 13π
 
∞ ∞
Pb, 8DPSK = F −F (7a) estimation error for 8DPSK as
3 8 8 1


! t+1
κt+1 h π8 , t − h 13π


where , t
e8DPSK = 10 log
8 dB. (14)
f 78 , t
 
∞ cΓ(t + 1)h(ψ, t) 1
F (ψ) = +o (7b)
πγ t+1 γ t+1 The asymptotic BER estimation error expressions for MDPSK
and where with other M values can be similarly obtained. Equations (13)
Z π/2 and (14) are general results for any wireless fading channel
−(t+2)
h(ψ, t) , sin ψ (1 − cos ψ cos θ) dθ. (8) with finite parameter t. From (13) and (14), we observe that
0
the asymptotic BER estimation error is only a function of the
On the other hand, one can obtain the approximate BER of modulation order M and the parameter t. It can be shown
MPSK and MDPSK by dividing the SER by the number of that the asymptotic BER estimation error for MPSK and
bits per symbol as MDPSK will increase as M increases, and will decrease when
Z ∞ t increases. The estimation error will become negligible when
1
Pb, MPSK/MDPSK = Pe, MPSK/MDPSK (γ)fγ (γ) dγ (9a) t is sufficiently large, which indicates that the approximate
log2 M 0

106
 3 estimation error for MPSK in a Nakagami-m fading environ-
M=4 ment is
M=8
2.5
M=16

M −1    m1
m g(mk ,m−1) g(nk ,m−1)
P
M=32
 dk κ Am − Bkm 
k
eMPSK = 10 log  k=1  dB
 
2  2g (η, m − 1) 
eMPSK

1.5 (18)
and that for 8DPSK is
1 π


! m1
− 1 − h 13π


κm h 8,m , m − 1
e8DPSK = 10 log
8 dB.
f 78 , m − 1
0.5
(19)
When m → ∞, we can show that lim eMPSK = 0 dB
0 m→∞
−0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 and lim e8DPSK = 0 dB from (18) and (19). Similarly, one
t m→∞
can show lim eMDPSK = 0 dB for other M values. Based
m→∞
Fig. 1. The asymptotic BER estimation error eMPSK for MPSK as a function on the fact that the Nakagami-m channel converges to an
of t. AWGN channel when m → ∞ [5], we re-establish the fact
analytically that the approximate BER is excellent for MPSK
and MDPSK in large SNR regimes for an AWGN channel
BER can estimate the exact BER accurately in a sufficiently [2], [3]. Previously, this conclusion is based on numerical
weak fading environment. observation.
In Fig. 1, we plot eMPSK as a function of the parameter t for In a Weibull fading environment, the fading amplitude has
MPSK in fading channels with different modulation order M . PDF
aαa−1 αa
 
From Fig. 1, we observe that eMDPSK is a decreasing function
fα (α) = exp − (20)
of t for a given M , indicating that the estimation error of the β β
approximate BER decreases as the value of t increases (the where a is the Weibull fading parameter and β is a positive
fading becomes weaker). When t > 1, the approximate BER scale parameter given as (Ω/Γ(1 + 2/a))2/a with Ω denoting
can be used to estimate the BER performance with an esti- the second moment of the fading amplitude [7]. It can be
mation error of less than 0.08 dB. However, the approximate shown that the receiver SNR PDF is
BER is no longer valid for performance prediction when the a  a a 
aγ 2 −1 Ω 2

value of t is small (the fading is strong). The BER estimation (γΩ) 2
fγ (γ) = exp − a . (21)
can be as high as 2.99 dB when t = −0.51 for 32PSK. 2β γ βγ 2
When γ → 0, one can show
III. N UMERICAL E XAMPLE  a
a

In a Nakagami-m fading environment, the fading amplitude aγ 2 −1 Ω 2 a

+ o γ 2 −1 .


fγ (γ) = (22)
has PDF 2β γ
2mm α2m−1 mα2 Comparing (22) with (4), we obtain the parameters c =
 
fα (α) = exp − (15) a
aΩ 2 /(2β) and t = a/2 − 1. Therefore, the asymptotic BER
Ωm Γ(m) Ω
estimation error for MPSK in a Weibull fading environment
where m is the Nakagami-m fading parameter (m ≥ 1/2) and is
Ω is the second moment of the fading amplitude. It can be    a2
−1
M

shown that the receiver SNR γ follows a gamma distribution P a g(mk , a −1) g(nk , a −1)
dk κ 2 a
2
− 2
a
with PDF Ak2 Bk2
 
eMPSK = 10 log  k=1  dB
 
2g η, a2 − 1


mm γ m−1
 
mγ  
fγ (γ) = m exp − . (16)
γ Γ(m) γ
(23)
When γ → 0, one can show that
and that for 8DPSK is
mm γ m−1
+ o γ m−1 .


fγ (γ) = m (17) a π a


! a2
− 1 − h 13π , a2 − 1


γ Γ(m) κ2 h 8, 2 8
e8DPSK = 10 log dB.
f 78 , a2 − 1


Comparing (17) with (4), we obtain the parameters c =
mm /Γ(m) and t = m − 1. Therefore, the asymptotic BER (24)
1 For
When a → ∞, we can show that lim eMPSK = 0 dB and
example, t = −0.5 for a Nakagami-m fading channel with parameter a→∞
m = 1/2. lim eMDPSK = 0 dB.
m→∞

107
 0
10 negligible. For example, the asymptotic estimation error for
m=0.5
8PSK will reduce to 0.05 dB and that for 8DPSK will reduce
to 0.04 dB when AF = 0.5.
−2
10
In Fig. 3, we present the exact BERs and approximate BERs
for 8PSK and 8DPSK over the Weibull fading channels with
different a values. From Fig. 3, we observe that the BER
−4
10
estimation error decreases when a increases. When a = 1, we
observe from Fig. 3 that the estimation error for 8PSK is 3.33
BER

m=1 dB and that for 8DPSK is 3.41 dB at BER level of 10−1 . These
−6
observed values are about 1 dB greater than the asymptotic
10
predictions of 2.26 dB and 2.38 dB. This observation agree
with our comment that the exact BER estimation error at finite
8PSK, Exact
−8 8PSK, Approx m=4 BER level will be greater than or equal to the asymptotic BER
10 8DPSK, Exact estimation error. The observed estimation errors for 8PSK
8DPSK, Approx
and 8DPSK both reduce to 0.63 dB at BER level of 10−2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Average SNR per Bit (dB)
when a = 2. These observed values are slightly greater than
the asymptotic prediction of 0.52 dB. When the parameter
Fig. 2. BERs of 8PSK/8DPSK and their approximations over the Nakagami- a further increases, the estimation errors will further reduce
m fading channels. and eventually become negligible. For example, the asymptotic
estimation error for 8PSK will reduce to 0.05 dB and that for
8DPSK will reduce to 0.04 dB when a = 8.
0
10
IV. C ONCLUSIONS
In this work, we quantified the asymptotic BER estimation
a=1
−2
10 error of the approximate BER analytically for MPSK and
MDPSK in fading channels. Our results show that the accuracy
of the approximate BER of both MPSK and MDPSK depends
−4
10 on the fading severity. In a weak fading environment, the ap-
BER

a=2
proximate BER can predict the BER performance accurately,
while under strong fading conditions the approximate BER
−6
10
can only serve as a loose lower bound of the exact BER. We
showed analytically that the approximate BER is excellent for
8PSK, Exact
a=8 both MPSK and MDPSK in large SNR regimes for an AWGN
−8 8PSK, Approx channel.
10 8DPSK, Exact
8DPSK, Approx R EFERENCES
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
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prediction of 0.52 dB. When the AF further decreases, the
estimation errors will further reduce and eventually become

108