Characterization of Conjoint Signals in Correlated Fading Channels

Abstract

Diversity techniques employed in signal reception within wireless communication systems are acknowledged for their capability to enhance various performance metrics by incorporating duplicative signals that can be merged to improve reliability. This enhancement is particularly evident when treating the channels as independent and identically distributed. However, the imposition of space constraints poses challenges in receiving uncorrelated signals, necessitating the application of decorrelation techniques. Although a myriad of decorrelation algorithms exist, they rely on signal information measurements. Additionally, these algorithms do not introduce new signals into the actual antenna array. Notably, the current decorrelation algorithms available in the literature lack a unified approach to amalgamating decorrelated signal streams via robust diversity combining techniques. Overall, the current body of literature suffers from a dearth of direct, comprehensive, and precise error performance analysis for different combining techniques across the entire signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) spectrum. This deficiency is particularly pronounced in scenarios involving arbitrary correlation. In essence, prior research is hindered by complex integrals, constrained receive paths, and in-depth error analysis. This research endeavors to undertake a concise and rigorous error analysis of diversity reception throughout the entire SNR landscape. Specifically, we utilize error analysis techniques with an emphasis on Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC) to assess the performance of both Equal Gain Combining (EGC) and Selection Combining (SC) systems. The methodology involves evaluating the performance of EGC and SC schemes by calculating the average output SNR, achieved by averaging the individual branch SNRs...