Chapter 5

Diversity
Ha Hoang Kha, Ph.D
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology
Email: hhkha@hcmut.edu.vn
 Outlines

Introduction
Diversity techniques
Diversity combining techniques
Conclusion

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 Wireless Channel Impairments

Noise
Thermal noise (modeled as AWGN)
Path loss
The loss in power as the radio signal propagates
Shadowing
Due to the presence of fixed obstacles in the radio path
Fading
Combines the effects of multiple propagation paths, rapid
movement of mobile units and reflectors

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 Fading

Signal copies following different paths undergoes

different
Attenuation
Distortion
Delays
Phase shifts
System performance can be severely degraded by
fading

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 The Effect of Fading Channel

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 Parameters of Fading Channels

Multipath spread
Maximum delay between paths of significant power in the
channel
Coherent bandwidth
How far apart in frequency for signals to undergo different
degree of fading
Coherent time
A measure of time duration over which the channel impulse
response is essentially invariant (highly correlated)
Doppler spread
Maximum range of Doppler shift

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 Classification of Fading Channels

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 Flat Fading vs. Slow Fading

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 Fading Mitigation

The fading problem can be solved by adding a fade

margin at the transmitter
Not a power efficient technique

Take the advantage of the statistic behavior of a

fading channel
Time correlation of channel
Frequency correlation of channel
Space correlation of channel

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 1. Diversity

Basic concept: transmit the signal via several

independent diversity branches to get independent
signal replicas
In other words, to have diversity, we need:
Multipath branches
Independent fading
Process branches to reduce fading probability

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 What is Diversity?

Diversity schemes provide two or more inputs at the

receivers such that fading phenomena among these
input or uncorrelated
If one radio path goes deep fade at a particular point
in time, another independent (or at least highly
uncorrelated) path may have a strong signal at the
input
If probability of a deep fade in one channel is P, the
probability for N channel is PN

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 Diversity Requirements

Multiple branches
Low correlation between branches

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 Diversity Systems: Basic Principles
and Classifications

Basic Concept
- Same information is sent over independent fading paths
- Signals are combined to mitigate the effects of fading

Design Issues
- Methods to obtain diversity branches
- Diversity combining methods

Different classifications
- Receiver versus Transmitter
- Predetection versus Postdetection
- Microscopic versus Macroscopic

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 2. Methods to Obtain Diversity Branches

Space
Multiple antenna elements spaced apart by decorrelation
distance. Theoretical decorrelation /2. Most common
form of diversity. No additional power or bandwidth.

Frequency
Multiple narrowband channels separated by channel
coherence bandwidth. Less often used. Wasteful of
scarce spectrum.

Polarization
Two antennas (one horizontally, the other
verticallypolarized) are used. Orthogonal polarization in
wireless channels exhibit uncorrelated fading. Only two-
branch diversity possible. Not common.

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 Space Diversity

Transmitter diversity
M different antennas are used at the transmitter to
obtain uncorrelated fading signals at the receiver
The total transmitted power is split among atennas

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 Space Diversity

Receiver space diversity

M different antenna are used at receiver to obtain M
independent fading signals

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 Frequency Diversity

Modulate the M signal through M different carriers

The separation between carriers should be at least the
coherent bandwidth
Only one antenna is needed
The total transmitted power is split between carriers

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 Time Diversity

Transmit the desired signal in M different periods of

time, i.e., each symbol is transmitted M times
The interval between transmission of same symbol
should be at least the coherent time
Different copies undergo different fading
Reduction in efficiency (effective data rate < real data
rate)

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 Methods to Obtain Diversity Branches

Angle of Arrival
Directional antennas facing widely different directions.
Scattered signal from different directions having
approximately independent fading.

Time
Transmission of the same information in time slots
separated by channel coherence time. Inefficient for
high-speed transmissions. Useless for stationary users.

Multipath
Same as Time-diversity, except that branches are
provided by channel through multipath. Takes advantage
of channel provided usually undesirable multipath
echoes. Principle of Rake Receivers.

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 3. Diversity Combining Techniques

For a slowly fading channel, the equivalent low pass

of the received signal of branch i can be written as
ji
yi (t ) re
i s(t ) ni (t ) i 1, 2,..., M
S(t) is the equivalent lowpass of the transmitted signal
ji
hi re i fading channel gain
ni(t) is additive noise

Out of M branches, M replicas of the transmitted

signal are obtained
y [ y 1 (t ), y2 (t ),..., yM (t )]
M is diversity order

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 Linear Diversity Combining

Individual branches are weighed by i and summed

M
y (t ) i yi
i 1

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 Diversity Combining Techniques

Selection Combining (SC)

Strongest signal is selected (all i = 0, except one). Cophasing not
required.
Threshold (Switching) Combining
Signal above a given threshold is used. Switching to a
different branch if it drops below the threshold.
Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC)
Signals are cophased and summed after optimal weighting
proportional to individual SNRs. Goal is to maximize SNR at
the combiner output. i function of i. Co-phasing required
Equal Gain Combining (EGC)
Branch signals are cophased and added (Maximal Ratio with
equal weights). (i = 1. Co-phasing required)
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 Linear Diversity Combining

is a random variable with PDF and CDF P ( )p ( )

which depends on the type of fading and the choice of

combining
The outage probability relative to 0 is defined as
0
Pout p( 0 ) p
0

( )d P ( 0 )

Note the for exponential distribution, the outage

probability becomes
0
1
Pout
/
e d 1 e 0 /
0

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 Linear Diversity Combining

Let Ps ( ) be the probability of symbol error for

demodulation of s(t) in AWGN with SNR
The average error probability Ps averaged over the
distribution of

Ps Ps ( ) p ( )d
0

Most often closed form solution for CDF, Pout and Ps ( )

unavailable.
Results based on computer simulation.

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 3.1. Selection Combining

Select strongest signal

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 Selection Combining

Combiner outputs the signal with the highest SNR

ri 2 / N i
The chance that all the branches are in deep fade
simultaneously is very low. Since at each instant only
one signal is used co-phasing is not required.
The CDF of is given
P ( ) p( ) p(max[ 1 ,, M ] )
M
p( 1 M ) p( i )
i 1
(Assuming independent branches)
We obtain the pdf of by differentiating P ( ) relative

to and the outage probability by evaluating P ( ) at

0
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 Selection Combining

Defining the average SNR on the ith branch as i E[ i ]

the SNR distribution will be exponential (for iid
Rayleigh fading) 1 /
p( i ) e i i

i
The outage probability for a target 0 on the ith branch
is /
Pout ( 0 ) 1 e 0 i

The outage probability of the selection-combiner for

the target 0 then is
M M
Pout ( 0 ) p( i 0 ) [1 e 0 / i ]
i 1 i 1

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 Selection Combining

If the average SNR for all of the branches are the

same ( i for all i) , then
Pout ( 0 ) p( 0 ) [1 e 0 / ]M
The pdf for
dP ( ) M
p ( ) (1 e / ) M 1 e /
d
The average SNR of the combiner output
M
1
p ( )d
0 i 1 i
The average SNR gain (array gain) increases with M,
but not linearly.

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Outage probability for Selection Combining

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 Example

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 BER for selection combining

The average probability of symbol error is obtained

from
Ps Ps ( ) p ( )d

0
In general, this result cannot be obtained in closed-
from and must be evaluated numerically or by
approximation.
For BPSK, we plot the bit error rate Pb versus b in i.i.d.
Rayleigh fading, obtained by a numerical evaluation of

Pb Q( 2 ) p ( )d
0

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 BER of BPSK under SC

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 3.2. Threshold (Switching) Combining

Branches are scanned sequentially. First one above a

given threshold is selected. The signal is used as long
as its SNR is above threshold.
When the signal quality of the used branch is good,
there is no need to look for (to use) other branches
Other branches or needed only when the signal quality
deteriorates
Two strategies can be used
Switch-and-examine strategy
Switch-and-stay strategy
Since at each instant only one signal is used, co-
phasing is not required.
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 Switch-and-Examine Strategy

The receiver switches to the strongest of the M-1 other

signals only if its level exceed the threshold

Less signal discontinuities

The closed-form analysis for the threshold combining
is highly complicated.
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 Switch and stay combining

With only two-branch diversity, another branch is

chosen when the SNR on the active branch falls
below T
The CDF of the combiner output
P 1 ( T ) P 2 ( ) T
P ( )
p( T 2 ) P 1 ( T ) P 2 ( ) T
For two-branch diversity with iid Rayleigh branch
statistics: E ( ) i

1 e T / e / e ( T ) / T
P ( ) / ( T ) /
1 2 e e T

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 Switch and stay combining

The pdf is obtained from differentiating the CDF

function
T / 1 /
(1 e ) e T

P ( )
(2 e / ) 1 e / T

The average probability of symbol error for DPSK:

1 1
Pb e p ( )d (1 e T / e T e T / )
0
2
2(1 )

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 Example

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 3.3. Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC)

Weight branches for maximum SNR

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 Maximal Ratio Combining

In the general model set i ai e j i

Then, M M
r i ri e
j i
ai ri
i 1 i 1

Assuming the same noise psd at all branches:

M
( ai ri ) 2
r2 1
i 1
M

i
N tot N 0 2
a
i 1

Maximizing by Cauchy-Schwartz inequality:

ai2 ri 2 / N 0
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 Maximal Ratio Combining

Assuming iid Rayleigh fading in each branch with

equal average branch SNR, , resulting has chi-
squared distribution with 2M degrees of freedom:
1 M 2 M M 1e /

N 0 i 1
ri i
i 1
p ( ) M
( M 1)!
, 0
The corresponding outage probability
0 k 1
M
( 0 / )
Pout p( 0 ) p ( )d 1 e 0 /

k 1 ( k 1)!
0
For BPSK, defining the bit error rate is

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 Outage probability of MRC

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 BER of MRC

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 3.4. Equal Gain Combining

In maximal ratio combining, set ai 1, i.e., i e -ji

Then, 1 M

2

ri
N 0 M i 1

In general, no closed-form solution for P ( ) . For

iid two-branch Rayleigh channel with same
CDF in terms of Q function:

P ( ) 1 e 2 / / e / [1 2Q( 2 / )] , 0

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 Conclusions

The diversity is used to provide the receiver with

several replicas of the same signal
Diversity techniques are used to improve the
performance of the radio channel without any increase
in the transmitted power
As higher as the receiver signal are decorrelated, as
much as the diversity gain

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 Conclusions

Diversity combining
MRC outperforms Selection Combining
Equal Gain Combining (EGC) performs very close to
MRC. Unlike the MRC, the estimate of channel gain is
not required in EGC
Among different combining techniques
MRC has the best performance and the highest
complexity
SC has the lowest performance and the lowest
complexity

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