Performance of an L-SC Receiver over - and -

Fading Channels
Rupaban Subadar
Department of ECE
IIT Guwahati
India, Assam-781 039
Email: rupaban@iitg.ernet.in
T. Siva Bhaskar Reddy
Department of ECE
IIT Guwahati
India, Assam-781 039
Email: t.siva@iitg.ernet.in
P. R. Sahu
Department of ECE
IIT Guwahati
India, Assam-781 039
Email: prs@iitg.ernet.in
AbstractPerformance of an L-selection combining (SC) re-
ceiver has been analyzed in - and - fading channels.
Moments of the SC receiver output signal-to-noise ratio and
average bit error rate for binary, coherent and non-coherent
modulations have been obtained analytically. Both numerical
evaluation and computer simulation results have been generated
to validate the obtained mathematical expressions. A study on
the effect of the order of diversity on the system performance
has also been presented.
Index Terms- and - fading channels, L-SC receiver,
ABER, moments.
I. INTRODUCTION
Diversity combining techniques are used to attenuate the
effect of fading in receivers operating over fading channels.
A diversity receiver efciently combines received multiple
copies of a transmitted signal resulting in improved received
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Among known basic combining
techniques, selection combining (SC) is preferred because
of its relatively less implementation complexity. In recent
studies, - and - models have been found to be suitable
for modeling small scale fading in mobile radio channels
with and without line-of-sight components, respectively [1],
[2], [3]. The advantage of these models is due to a non-
homogenous physical environment assumption which is closer
to the practical scenario and hence best ts to the experimental
data. Besides, other known fading models such as Rayleigh,
Rice, Nakagami-m etc. can also be realized as special cases
of these two models.
Performance of diversity receivers such as maximal ratio
combining (MRC) and equal gain combining (EGC) have been
studied in literature in - and - fading channels thoroughly
[4][8]. In this paper, we analyze the performance of a SC
receiver over - and - fading channels for arbitrary number
of fading branches (L). We use a probability density function
(PDF) based approach to obtain a set of new mathematical
expressions for moments of SC output SNR and the average
bit error rate (ABER) performance for binary, coherent -
phase shift keying (CPSK), -frequency shift keying (CFSK),
differential coherent PSK (DPSK) and non-coherent FSK
(NCFSK) modulation schemes.
The paper is organized as follows. In section II, the system
model has been discussed. Analytical performance measures
have been presented for - and - fading channels in
sections III and IV, respectively. In section V, numerical and
simulation results have been presented and the conclusion in
section VI.
II. CHANNEL AND RECEIVER
The channel has been assumed to be slow, frequency at
fading with - and - statistics. The receiver is provided
with L antennas for spatial diversity reception of signals. The
complex low pass equivalent of the faded signal received at
the l
th
antenna, l = 1, 2, . . . , L, over one bit duration T
b
can be
expressed as
r
l
(t) =
l
e
j
l
s(t) +n
l
(t), (1)
where s(t) is the transmitted bit signal with energy E
b
and
n
l
(t) is the complex Gaussian noise having zero mean and
two sided power spectral density 2N
0
. Random variable (RV)

l
represents the phase and
l
is either - or - distributed
fading amplitude.
The PDF of the - distribution is given as [3]
p

l
(
l
) =
=
2(1+)
+1
2

l
e

(1+)

l

2
l

1
2
exp()
+1
2
l
I
1
_
_
2

(1+)

l
_
_
, (2)
where
l
= E
_

2
l

, parameter is dened as the ratio

between the total power of the dominant components and
the total power of the scattered waves, whereas parameter
=
1
V(
2
l
)
1+2
(1+)
2
denotes the number of multipath clusters
and I
v
() is the modied Bessel function of the rst kind and
v
th
order.
The PDF of the - distribution is given as [3]
p

l
(
l
) =
4

+
1
2
h

2
l
()H

1
2

+
1
2
l
e

2h

l

2
l
I

1
2
_
2H

2
l
_
, (3)
where the parameters h and H are function of (discussed
in details in [3]). The parameter (> 0) is dened as
=
E
2
(
2
l
)
2V(
2
l
)
_
1+
_
H
h
_
2
_
, where V() represents the variance.
In the SC receiver, the SNR of received signals from all
diversity branches are monitored and the branch having the
978-1-4244-6404-3/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE
This full text paper was peer reviewed at the direction of IEEE Communications Society subject matter experts for publication in the IEEE ICC 2010 proceedings
highest SNR is selected for detection. Thus, the instantaneous
SNR at the output of the SC combiner can be given as [9]
= Max(
1
,
2
, . . . ,
L
), (4)
where
l
=
E
b
N
0

2
l
, l = 1, 2, . . . , L is the instantaneous input
branch SNR of the SC receiver.
A. PDF of L-SC Receiver Output SNR in Independent -
Fading Channels
The PDF of the received SNR at the lth receiving antenna
for - fading channel is given as [3]
f

l
(
l
) =
(1+)
+1
2

1
2
l
e

(1+)
l

l

1
2
+1
2
l
e

I
1
_
2

(1+)
l

l
_
.
(5)
In literature cumulative density function (CDF) of -
distribution is available in terms of Marcum Q function, but
in order to obtain the desired performance measures, from (5),
the CDF of SNR at the l
th
input antenna can be obtained in
series form as
F

l
(
l
) =
(1+)
+1
2

1
2
e

+1
2
l

_
0

1
2
l
e

(1+)
l

l
I
1
_
2

(1+)
l

l
_
d
l
. (6)
Expressing the Bessel function in innite series [10] and
solving the integration using [11, (3.381.1)], the CDF in (6)
can be expressed as
F

l
(
l
) =
1
e

t=0
()
t
t!(+t)
g
_
+t,
(1+)

l

l
_
, (7)
where g(, ) is the incomplete gamma function. Thus, assum-
ing input signals are statistically independent and
l
= , l,
the CDF of SNR at the output of SC receiver can be written as
the product of CDFs of all L received SNRs. It can be given
as
F

() =
_
1
e

t=0
()
t
t!(+t)
g
_
+t,
(1+)


_
_
L
. (8)
Now differentiating (8) w. r. t. , the PDF of the SNR at the
output of the SC can be given as
f

() =
L
e
L

t
r
=0
r=1,...,L
()
L

i=1
t
i
L

i=1
{t
i
!(+t
i
)}

L+
L

i=1
t
i
1

1
L1

i=1
{+t
i
}
_
(1+)

_
L+
L

i=1
t
i
e

L(1+)

L1

i=1
_
1
F
1
_
1, +t
i
+1,
(1+)


__
, (9)
where
1
F
1
(; ; ) is the conuent hypergeometric function [11].
In the above differentiation we have used [12, (6.5.25)] to
differentiate the involved incomplete gamma function. For =
1 and 0 (Rayleigh fading case), it can be shown that (9)
reduces to [13, (7.60)].
B. PDF of L-SC Receiver Output SNR in Independent -
Fading Channels
The PDF of the received SNR at the l
th
input antenna of
the selection combiner in - fading channel is given as [3]
f

l
(
l
) =
2

()
_

l
_
+
1
2
_

l
H
_

1
2
e

2h
l

l
I

1
2
_
2H
l

l
_
.
(10)
From (10), the CDF of l
th
branch SNR in series form
can be obtained by integrating w. r. t.
l
. The integration
can be performed by expressing the involved Bessel function
in innite series [10] and using [11, (3.381.1)]. The nal
expression can be given as
F

l
(
l
) =

()

t=0
H
2t
g
_
2+2t,
2h

l

l
_
t!(+t +
1
2
)2
2+2t1
h
+2t
. (11)
For independent and identical branch powers, the CDF of the
SNR at the output of the L-SC can be written as
F

() =
_
_

()

t=0
H
2t
g
_
2+2t,
2h


_
t!2
2+2t1
(+t +
1
2
)h
+2t
_
_
L
. (12)
Now differentiating (12) w. r. t. and arranging the terms, an
expression for the PDF of the SNR at the output of the L-SC
receiver can be given as
f

() =
2
L
L
L/2

L
()

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
h
L
(/ )

H
2
L

i=1
t
i

1
L

i=1
_
t
i
!(+t
i
+
1
2
)
_L1

i=1
{2+2t
i
}
e

2Lh


L1

i=1
_
1
F
1
_
1, 2+2t
i
+1,
2h


__
. (13)
For =0.5 and =1 (Rayleigh fading case), it can be shown
that (13) reduces to [13, (7.60)].
III. PERFORMANCE OVER - FADING CHANNELS
A. Moments
The moments of the SC output SNR can be given as
E[
N
] =

_
0

N
f

()d, (14)
Putting f

() from (9) in to (14) the above integral can be

solved by applying [14, (C.1)]. The nal expression for the
This full text paper was peer reviewed at the direction of IEEE Communications Society subject matter experts for publication in the IEEE ICC 2010 proceedings
N
th
moment can be obtained as
E[
N
] =
L
1N
e
L
_

(1+)
_
N

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
()
L

i=1
t
i
L
/2
L

i=1
{t
i
!(+t
i
)}

(N+

2
)
L1

i=1
{+t
i
}
F
A
_
_
_N+

2
; 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
(L1)numbers
;
+t
1
+1, +t
2
+1, . . . , +t
L1
+1;
1
L
,
1
L
, . . . ,
1
L
. .
(L1)numbers
_
_
_
_
, (15)
where F
A
(; ; ; ) is the Appell hypergeometric function [11]
and

=2L+2
L

i=1
t
i
. The average SNR at the output of the SC
can be obtained from the above expression by putting N = 1.
The expression can be obtained as

out
=
e
L
(1+)

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
()
L

i=1
t
i
(1+

2
)L
/2
L

i=1
{t
i
!(+t
i
)}
L1

i=1
{(+t
i
)}
F
A
_
_
_1+

2
; 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
(L1)numbers
; +t
1
+1,
+t
2
+1, . . . , +t
L1
+1;
1
L
,
1
L
, . . . ,
1
L
. .
(L1)numbers
_
_
_
_
_
(16)
B. Average Bit Error Rate
The ABER can be obtained by averaging the conditional bit
error rate over the PDF of the combiner output SNR. It can
be given as [9]
P
e
() =

_
0
p
e
(|) f

()d, (17)
where p
e
(|) is the conditional BER corresponding to the
modulation scheme used.
1) Binary Coherent Modulations: For binary coherent mod-
ulations, the expression for the conditional BER can be given
as p
e, coh
(|) = Q(

2a), where a = 0.5, 1 for CFSK and

CPSK modulations, respectively [15]. Putting p
e, coh
(|) and
(9) into (17) and solving the integral (using [15, A-(6), A-
(8a)]), an expression for ABER can be obtained as
P
e,ch
( ) =
L
_
a
2e
L
_
(1+)

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0

k
r
|
L1
r=1
=0
()
L

i=1
t
i

(+
1
2
)
L

i=1
{t
i
!(+t
i
)}
L1

i=1
_
1
(+t
i
)(+t
i
+1)
k
i
_

2
F
1
_
1, +
1
2
; +1; L
_
, (18)
where

= L+
L

i=1
t
i
+
L1

i=1
k
i
and

=
(1+)
a +L(1+)
2) Binary Non-coherent Modulations: For binary non-
coherent modulations, the conditional BER is given as
p
e, ncoh
(|) =
1
2
exp(a), where a = 0.5, 1 for NCFSK
and DPSK modulations, respectively [15]. By putting
p
e, ncoh
(|) and (9) into (17) and solving the integral (using
[14, (C.1)]), an expression for ABER can be obtained as
P
e,nch
( ) =
L
2e
L

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
()
L

i=1
t
i
()

i=1
{t
i
!(+t
i
)}
L1

i=1
{(+t
i
)}
F
A
_
_
_; 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
(L1)numbers
; +t
1
+1,
+t
2
+1, . . . +t
L1
+1; , . . . ,
. .
(L1)numbers
_
_
_.(19)
IV. PERFORMANCE OVER - FADING CHANNELS
A. Moments
Using (13), (14) and [14, (C.1)], the moment of the SC
output SNR over - channels can be given as
E[
N
] =
2
LN
L
1N

L/2

L
()
_

h
_
N

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
h
L
(N+)
L1

i=1
{2+2t
i
}

H
2
L

i=1
t
i
(2L)

i=1
_
t
i
!(+t
i
+
1
2
)
_
F
A
_
_
_N+, 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
(L1)numbers
;2+2t
1
+1,
2+2t
2
+1, . . . , 2+2t
L1
+1;
1
L
,
1
L
, . . . ,
1
L
. .
(L1)numbers
_
_
_
_
_
.
(20)
An expression for the average output SNR can be obtained
from the above expression (substituting N = 1) as

out
=
2
L1

L/2

h
L
()

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
h
L
(1+)H
2
L

i=1
t
i
(2L)

L1

i=1
{2+2t
i
}
This full text paper was peer reviewed at the direction of IEEE Communications Society subject matter experts for publication in the IEEE ICC 2010 proceedings

F
A
_
_
1+, 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
L1
; 2+2t
1
+1, 2+2t
2
+1,
L

i=1
_
t
i
!(+t
i
+
1
2
)
_
. . . , 2+2t
L1
+1;
1
L
,
1
L
, . . . ,
1
L
. .
L1
_
_
_
_
(21)
B. Average Bit Error Rate
1) Binary Coherent Modulations: Putting p
e, coh
(|) and
(13) into (17) and solving the integral (using [15, A-(6), A-
(8a)]), expression for ABER can be obtained as
P
e
ch
( ) =
L
_
a
L1
2
1L

L
()

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0

k
r
|
L1
r=1
=0
2
L1

l=1
k
l
h
L+
L1

l=1
k
l
H
2
L

i=1
t
i
L

i=1
_
t
i
!(+t
i
+
1
2
)
_

_
+
L1

l=1
k
l
+
1
2
_

+
L1

l=1
k
l
L1

i=1
_
(2+2t
i
)(2+2t
i
+1)
k
i
_
(+
L1

l=1
k
l
)

2
F
1
_
1,+
L1

l=1
k
l
+
1
2
; +
L1

l=1
k
l
+1; 2Lh
_
, (22)
where

=

2Lh+a
.
2) Binary Non-coherent Modulations: Putting
p
e, ncoh
(|) and (13) into (17) and solving the integral
(using [14, (C.1)]) an expression for ABER can be obtained
as
P
e,nch
( ) =
2
L1
L
L/2

L
()

t
r
|
L
r=1
=0
h
L
()

H
2
L

i=1
t
i
L

i=1
_
t
i
!(+t
i
+
1
2
)
_

1
L1

i=1
{2+2t
i
}
F
A
_
_
; 1, 1, . . . , 1
. .
L1
; 2+2t
1
+1,
. . . , 2+2t
L1
+1; 2h, . . . , 2h
_
. (23)
V. NUMERICAL AND SIMULATION RESULTS
Analytically obtained expressions have been numerically
evaluated and plotted for parameters of interest. For - fading
channels, ABER vs. for binary coherent and non-coherent
modulations have been shown in Figs. 1 and 2, respectively.
As expected, the performance is directly proportional to the
diversity order L for given values of and . The - model
is applied for line-of-sight fading communications and the
parameter indicates the power of the dominant component.
Hence, the ABER performance improves with the increase
in for xed values of L and . The parameters is the
real extension of number of clusters n [3]. As expected, the
=2, =1

dB
A
B
E
R
=0.55, =2
CPSK
CFSK
L=3
L=2
Simulation
Average SNR per branch,
1
3
5
10
10
10
10
10
2
4
10
0
0 5 15 20 10
Figure 1. ABER for CPSK and CFSK modulations over - channels.
increase in parameter improves the performance of the
system.
ABER vs. for binary coherent and non-coherent modula-
tions over - fading channels are shown in Figs. 3 and 4,
respectively. The - fading model is applicable to non line-
of-sight fading channel communications and similar to -
fading channels, here is also proportional to the number of
multi-path clusters. So, the effect of on system performance
is similar to - fading channels. Also, the performance is
directly proportional to L for xed, and . The parameter
depends on the variance of the in-phase and the quadrature
phase components of clusters. Hence, as expected, increase
in degrades the ABER performance. It can be observed
from Figs. 1 and 3 (coherent modulations) that for an increase
in diversity order from 2 to 3 a diversity gain of 3.49 dB
and 4.57 dB, respectively, can be achieved at an ABER of
10
4
. The corresponding values of diversity gain for non-
coherent modulations are observed to be 1.23 dB and 1.89
dB, respectively.
For each case demonstrated in the above gures, a Monte
Carlo simulation has also been performed. The simulation
results have been also shown in the plots which can be
observed to be in close agreement with the numerical results.
In the numerical evaluation of expressions involving innite
series, we have truncated them suitably so as to achieve an
accuracy at least at 7
th
place of decimal digit. In Tables I and
II we have illustrated the number of terms (N) required to
achieve an ABER of 10
7
in the evaluation of (18) and (22)
as a function of , respectively.
VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we present the performance of a SC receiver
over - and - fading channels for arbitrary order of diver-
sity. Analytical expressions for the PDF of the output SNR,
moments and ABER for binary, coherent and non-coherent
modulation schemes are derived. Expressions are in the form
of innite series and hypergeometric functions. Numerically
evaluated results have been plotted to illustrate the effect of
This full text paper was peer reviewed at the direction of IEEE Communications Society subject matter experts for publication in the IEEE ICC 2010 proceedings
NCFSK
DPSK
Simulation

dB Average SNR per branch,

A
B
E
R
=2, =1
=0.55, =2
L=3
L=2
1
3
5
10
10
10
10
10
2
4
10
0
0 5 15 20 10
Figure 2. ABER for DPSK and NCFSK modulations over - channels.

dB Average SNR per branch,

A
B
E
R
L=3
L=2
=2, =0.5
=2, =1
CPSK
CFSK
Simulation
1
3
5
10
10
10
10
10
2
4
10
0
0 5 15 20 10
Figure 3. ABER for CPSK and CFSK modulations over - channels.
NCFSK
DPSK
Simulation

dB Average SNR per branch,

A
B
E
R
L=3
L=2
=2, =0.5
=2, =1
1
3
5
10
10
10
10
10
2
4
10
0
0 5 15 20 10
Figure 4. ABER for DPSK and NCFSK modulations over - channels.
fading parameter and the order of diversity on the receiver
performance. The obtained results have been compared with
the available special case results.
Table I
NUMBER OF TERMS (N) REQUIRED FOR AN ACCURACY AT 7
th
PLACE OF
DECIMAL DIGIT IN THE NUMERICAL EVALUATION OF (18) FOR
= 0.55, = 2.
(dB) Modulation
L = 2 L = 3
N ABER N ABER
5
CPSK 13 0.0160112 16 0.0121210
CFSK 19 0.0593464 15 0.0604053
10
CPSK 10 0.0006925 10 0.0001977
CFSK 12 0.0052614 13 0.0029356
Table II
NUMBER OF TERMS (N) REQUIRED FOR AN ACCURACY AT 7
th
PLACE OF
DECIMAL DIGIT IN THE NUMERICAL EVALUATION OF (22) FOR
= 2, = 1.
(dB) Modulation
L = 2 L = 3
N ABER N ABER
5
CPSK 6 0.0209453 8 0.0025874
CFSK 10 0.0515436 13 0.0080392
10
CPSK 5 0.0032608 5 0.0002074
CFSK 6 0.0104652 6 0.0010341
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This full text paper was peer reviewed at the direction of IEEE Communications Society subject matter experts for publication in the IEEE ICC 2010 proceedings