Performance of generalized multicarrier DS-CDMA over Nakagami-m fading channels

A class of generalized multicarrier direct sequence code-division multiple-access (MC DS-CDMA) schemes is defined and its performance is considered over multipath Nakagami-m fading channels. The spacing between two adjacent subcarriers of the generalized MC DS-CDMA is a variable, allowing us to gain insight into the effects of the spacing on the bit error rate (BER) performance of MC DS-CDMA systems. This generalized MC DS-CDMA scheme includes the subclasses of multitone DS-CDMA and orthogonal MC DS-CDMA as special cases. We present a unified analytical framework for determining the exact average BER of the generalized MC DS-CDMA system over generalized multipath Nakagami-m fading channels. The optimum spacing of the MC DS-CDMA system required for achieving the minimum BER is investigated and the BER performance of the system having optimum spacing is evaluated. The resultant BER is compared with that of both multitone DS-CDMA and orthogonal MC DS-CDMA.