Search

In this paper, we focus on near-optimal designs for variable-length error-correcting (VLEC) codes, while considering the performance in terms of both the average codeword length (ACL) and the symbol-error rate (SER). The criteria for narrowing the search space and enhancing the SER performance are investigated. An efficient code construction algorithm is then devised based on a random search process. Taking advantage of the significantly reduced search complexity, we are able to construct near-optimal VLEC codes for large source alphabets. Numerical results obtained for various free distance values and alphabet sizes show that constructed VLEC codes have both reduced ACL values and enhanced SER performances. Performance improvement is more notable for large source alphabets.

In this paper, a cooperative single-carrier transmission scheme considering a distributed quasi-orthogonal space-frequency block code (QOSFBC) that provides improved peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) performance is constructed for uplink communications. Focused on reducing the size and computational complexity, the source node, i.e., the mobile devices, is equipped with two transmit antennas, while only one antenna is required at the relay node in order to collaboratively generate a distributed QOSFBC signal using four transmit antennas. To achieve full diversity, a phase rotation strategy is proposed at the relay node. In addition, since single-carrier schemes considering SFBCs re-permute the spectral components of the transmitted signal and induce high PAPR value, a modified SFBC coding technique is proposed that allows the high-PAPR problem to be mitigated. Consequently, the designed distributed single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) QOSFBC scheme is able to provide full transmit diversity over frequency-selective fading channels, with a lower PAPR value on mobile devices when compared with a conventional SC-FDMA QOSFBC scheme.

In this paper, we investigate Raptor-coded distributed unitary space–time modulation (USTM) schemes, where both the amplify-and-forward (AF) and decode-and-forward (DF) relaying scenarios are considered, under a wireless relay network with arbitrary path gains for the channel fading coefficients. First, the AF and DF relaying procedures are investigated based on the use of an inner USTM signal and an outer Raptor code, and the related noncoherent detectors are also derived. The constellation search for the USTM signal, as well as the optimization for the Raptor code, is then investigated in order to enhance the system performance. It is shown that the designed systems effectively approach the predicted limit in throughput performances and outperform the noncoherent distributed MIMO scheme reported in the previous literature.

In this paper, we investigate differential amplitude/ phase modulation (APM) schemes for correlated Rayleigh fading channels. Considering the noncoherent maximum-likelihood receiver, a theoretical pairwise error probability (PEP) formula for differential signal vectors with arbitrary power values is derived. The design criterion for the signal set of differential vectors is then proposed based on the asymptotic analysis of the PEP. For both uncoded and coded APM schemes, the design criteria and optimization procedures for bit labeling rules are investigated. The designed differential APM schemes are shown to provide significant improvement in bit-error-rate performance, particularly in the error-floor regions.

In this paper, we investigate noncoherent transmission schemes using amplitude/phase modulation. For uncoded transmission schemes, we derive the pairwise error probability (PEP) and its high-SNR approximation for signal vectors with unequal power values using a noncoherent maximum-likelihood detector under Rayleigh block fading channels. For coded transmission schemes, we consider differential amplitude/phase modulated signals and introduce a codeword-interleaving strategy to improve the error performance. The design criteria for the signal labelling and bit interleaving are also derived via the high-SNR approximation of the PEP. At the receiver, we devise an iterative channel amplitude estimator to enhance the detection reliability. With the help of a specially-designed iterative receiving algorithm, the designed noncoherent coded scheme can provide a significant improvement, either in the error-floor or the waterfall region.

In this paper, we present a turbo coded space-time modulation scheme for noncoherent block fading channels, where neither the transmitter nor the receiver knows the channel state information. The turbo coded bits are divided into two parts which are respectively transmitted through information-bearing pilots and spatial multiplexing (SM). Since this approach effectively increases the cardinality of the set of possible transmit (space-time) signal matrices, a large rate gain can be obtained without increasing the modulation order, as shown through achievable-rate analysis. At the receiver, an iterative detection-decoding algorithm is performed cooperatively among the turbo decoder, the coherent demapper for the SM, and the noncoherent demapper for the information-bearing pilots through the help of the proposed signal matrix detector, which enables these two demappers to utilize the channel information inherent in all the received symbols within the same fading block. Compared to the previous work in the literature, the proposed scheme can provide advantages in both error performance and complexity.

A novel noncoherent block coding scheme, called noncoherent block-coded MPSK (NBC-MPSK), was proposed recently. In this paper, we present further research results on NBC-MPSK. We first focus on the rotational invariance (RI) of NBC-MPSK. Based on the RI property of NBC-MPSK with multistage decoding, a noncoherent near-optimal linear complexity multistage decoder for NBC-MPSK is proposed. Then we investigate a tree-search ML decoding algorithm for NBCMPSK. The derived algorithm is shown to have low complexity and excellent error performance. In this paper, we also utilize the idea of the NBC-MPSK to design noncoherent space-time block codes, called noncoherent space-time block-coded MPSK (NSTBC-MPSK). For two transmit antennas, we propose a signal set with set partitioning and derive the minimum noncohent distance of NSTBC-MPSK with this signal set. For the decoding of NSTBC-MPSK, we modify the ML decoding algorithm of NBC-MPSK and propose an iterative hard-decision decoding algorithm. Compared with training codes and unitary space-time modulation, NBC-MPSK and NSTBC-MPSK have larger minimum noncoherent distance and thus better error performance for the noncoherent ML decoder.