MIMO-OFDM in a Cooperative Frequency Selective Fading Channel: An Analysis

Diversity is an integral technique in the advancement of wireless communications. Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology continues to occupy a pivotal position in the fourth-generation (4G) standards and beyond. With the advent of full-dimension (FD) MIMO and massive MIMO, new paradigms are being targeted in the disruptive technology. Third-generation partnership project (3GPP) has also emphasized the advanced MIMO technology for achieving its vision of International Mobile Telephony (IMT) 2020. However, implementing multiple antennas can be cumbersome due to limiting factors such as size, cost, and hardware limitations. In such a scenario, where implementing many antennas is not feasible, the benefits of diversity can be reaped by employing cooperative communication. Single antenna mobiles can share their mobile stations giving rise to a virtual MIMO system. In this paper, the authors have analyzed the performance of cooperative mobile stations in a frequency selective channel. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), known for its robustness against multipath fading, is the modulation technique employed to circumvent the hazardous effects of intersymbol interference (ISI). MIMO is the key technology for achieving capacity advantage and improving link reliability. The blend of these two cutting edge technologies in a cooperative relay system presents encouraging results and inferences. Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) is employed at the relay and the receiver to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Decode and forward (DF) protocol is used at the relay node owing to its regenerative nature and adaptability. The closed-form expressions for bit error rate (BER) and outage probability (P-out) are derived and compared with the experimental results. The effect of power decay factor is analyzed and simulation is done for 2 x 2, 2 x 3, and 2 x 4 transmit and receive antennas. The number of antennas at the relay is kept as 2. The analytical results agree with the simulation results.