Performance Comparison of IRS-Assisted SSK Modulation Over Rayleigh and Nakagami-m Fading Channels

Abstract

To meet the needs of society, the next generation of communication systems will have to learn to juggle multiple responsibilities effectively. This is leading to exponential growth in both circuit complexity and error rates. It is possible to solve these issues by using the intelligent reflecting surface (IRS)-Assisted space shift keying (SSK) modulation technique. IRS is a cutting-edge technology that shows promise for future networks due to its low mistake rates and low-energy consumption. Similarly, SSK modulation is favored due to its preference for simpler hardware. Therefore, integrating IRS with SSK is preferable for minimizing both error rates and circuit complexity. In this article, a new framework is developed to characterize the average bit error rate (ABER) with the help of the moment generating function (MGF) over Nakagami-m fading channels. The ABER is derived by factoring the direct path and IRS reflected path at the receiver and also comparing the performance analysis over the Rayleigh fading channel. The analytical results are validated through Monte-Carlo simulations.