Average level crossing rate and average outage duration of generalized selection combining

This letter presents an analytical methodology for the evaluation of the average level crossing rate and the average outage duration of generalized selection combining. More specifically, it presents a general approach when this scheme is employed over independent but not necessarily identically distributed fading channels. The general approach is then specialized to independent identically distributed Rayleigh fading paths. Selected numerical examples and plots are also provided and discussed. Index Terms--Average outage/fade duration, diversity combining, fading channels, generalized selection combining (GSC), level crossing rate, ultra-wideband communications.