Performance of Dual Branch SSC Receiver in Correlated α-μ Fading Channels

In this paper, the performance analysis of dual branch switch and stay combining (SSC) receivers operating over correlated and identically distributed (i.d.) α-μ fading channels is presented. Assuming this diversity technique, infinite series expressions with fast converging properties are derived for the probability density function (pdf), cumulative distribution function (cdf) and the moments of the output envelope. The proposed analysis is used for evaluating the important performance criteria, such as the outage probability, the mean square output envelope, the amount of fading and the average bit error probability (ABEP). The effects of fading severity, branch correlation and optimum choice of switching threshold are considered and numerically presented. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the validity and accuracy of the derived analytical expressions.