Performance Analysis of a Multi-layered SVD Based STBC System

Abstract

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output transmission systems using orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing is a key solution in wireless communications. The performance of MIMO-OFDM systems can be improved using coding schemes such as Space–Time Block Coding (STBC), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Vertical Bell Labs Layered Space–Time Architecture (VBLAST). In this paper we present a (4 × 4) cascaded STBC–SVD multi-layered encoder structured in a VBLAST architecture. The STBC output streams are SVD encoded to improve symbol error rate (SER) performance. The introduced system achieves both spatial multiplexing and diversity gains simultaneously and maintains reliable SER performance. We study the effect of ordering the output streams of the STBC before applying the SVD encoding. We show that there is an optimum ordering that guarantees a minimum overall SER. MATLAB® simulations show that the proposed system performs better over other conventional VBLAST systems. Moreover, we show that better performance is not associated with an increase in the computational complexity.