2380
8, AUGUST 2009
Exact BER Analysis of Distributed Alamouti’s
Code for Cooperative Diversity Networks
MinChul Ju, Hyoung-Kyu Song, and Il-Min Kim, Senior Member, IEEE
Abstract—We analyze the bit-error rate (BER) performance
of the distributed Alamouti’s code for cooperative diversity
networks consisting of a source, two relays and a destination node
over Rayleigh fading channels. It is assumed that the relays adopt
the amplify-and-forward protocol. Firstly, assuming the existence
of the direct path component from the source to the destination,
we derive the exact BER expression in a one-integral form
for M -pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and M -quadrature
amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations. We also present a
series expansion of a very accurate BER approximation, which
does not require any numerical calculation, and we prove this
series is convergent. Secondly, considering the system where the
direct path component does not exist, we obtain the exact BER
expression in a one-integral form and a series expansion of the
exact BER expression. Numerical results confirm that the two
exact BER expressions in a one-integral form perfectly match
the simulation results and the two series expressions of BER are
very accurate, even with a small truncation window.
Index Terms—Amplify-and-forward protocol, bit-error rate
(BER), cooperative diversity networks, distributed Alamouti’s
code, series expansion of BER expression.
I. I NTRODUCTION
W IRELESS multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) sys-
tems using antenna arrays have received considerable
attention recently because of their significantly higher system
capacity [1], [2]. In the application of MIMO techniques
to mobile communications, one of the problems is that the
wireless nodes might be too small to be equipped with multiple
antennas. Cooperative diversity is a method to overcome this
difficulty by virtually sharing antennas with other nodes in
a wireless network [3], [4]. A cooperative diversity system
consists of multiple wireless nodes, which relay signals for
each other over a network. Cooperative diversity has been
shown to be an effective means of attaining broader range and
mitigating channel impairments resulting from fading. One of
the most well-known cooperative strategies is the amplify-and-
forward protocol where each relay node samples, amplifies
and retransmits the incoming signals [5].
Paper approved by M.-S. Alouini, the Editor for Transmission Systems of
the IEEE Communications Society. Manuscript received July 3, 2007; revised
April 14, 2008.
This research is supported in part by Foundation of ubiquitous computing
and networking project (UCN) Project, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy
(MKE) 21st Century Frontier R&D Program in Korea and a result of
subproject UCN 08B3-B2-13T. This paper was presented in part at the
CCECE08, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, May 2008.
M. Ju and I.-M. Kim are with the Department of Electrical and Com-
puter Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (e-mail:
ilmin.kim@queensu.ca).
H.-K. Song is with the Department of Information and Communication
Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, Korea.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TCOMM.2009.08.070324
0090-6778/09$25.00 
c 2009 IEEE
Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO.
The performance of cooperative diversity networks using
the amplify-and-forward protocol has been widely discussed
in the literature. Hasna and Alouini analyzed the end-to-
end performance of two-hop wireless communication systems
[6]. Hua et al. discussed diversity gain using Hurwitz-Radon
matrices [7]. Anghel and Kaveh presented the exact average
symbol-error rate analysis [8]. Ribeiro et al. derived symbol-
error probabilities for general cooperative links [9]. However,
the performance of the distributed Alamouti’s code and the
distributed space-time block codes (STBCs) for cooperative
diversity networks has been analyzed in a few publications.
Anghel and Kaveh derived bounds and an asymptotic bit-error
rate (BER) expression of the distributed Alamouti’s code with
one and two relays [10]. Chang and Hua, on the other hand,
presented a closed-form BER expression of the distributed
Alamouti’s code ignoring the presence of additive white
Gaussian noise (AWGN) at the destination, which always
exists in real communications [11]. Also, in this analysis [11],
the direct path component was not considered.1 Recently,
for the distributed STBCs, pairwise error probability (PEP),
BER bounds, and outage probability have been analyzed
[12]–[15]. In addition, PEP of the distributed STBCs with
imperfect channel estimation has been obtained [16]. To the
best of our knowledge, however, there has been no work
which derived the exact BER expression or a very accurate
BER approximation of the distributed Alamouti’s code for
cooperative diversity networks with AWGN at the destination
and/or with the direct path component.
In this paper, we analyze the BER performance of the
distributed Alamouti’s code for cooperative diversity networks
consisting of a source, two relays and a destination node over
Rayleigh fading channels, taking into account AWGN at the
destination. It is assumed that the relays adopt the amplify-
and-forward protocol. We also assume that the statistical
properties of the channel coefficients from the source to the
two relays are identical; those of the channel coefficients
from the two relays to the destination are identical; and
the two amplifying coefficients at the relays are identical.
This will be referred to as a symmetric architecture in this
paper. For a cooperative diversity network with the direct path
component, we derive the exact BER expression in a one-
integral form for M -pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and
M -quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations.
On the other hand, there has also been much use of series
expansion approach [17]–[22] when the closed-form solution
is not derivable. This approach is useful because one may
1 The direct path component denotes the signal received by the destination
node directly from the source node without the help of relay nodes.
JU et al.: EXACT BER ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ALAMOUTI’S CODE FOR COOPERATIVE DIVERSITY NETWORKS 2381

obtain very accurate results by taking finite number of terms. a fixed amplifying coefficient β and retransmits it to the
Following this approach, we also derive an infinite series destination at the third and fourth time slots.2 We assume
expansion of a very accurate BER approximation and prove that the two relay nodes adopt the distributed Alamouti’s
this series is convergent. By taking finite number of terms code [10], [11]. The first relay transmits βr11 at the third
of the obtained series, the BER can be easily and accurately time slot and βr12 at the fourth time slot, while the second
∗ ∗
calculated without any numerical method. As a special case, relay transmits −βr22 at the third time slot and βr21 at the
considering a cooperative diversity network without the direct fourth time slot. Let fj denote the channel gain from the jth
path component, we obtain the exact BER expression in a relay to the destination node which is fixed during two time
one-integral form and a series expansion of the exact BER slots with fj ∼ CN (0, Ω2 ) for j = 1, 2. Then the signals
expression. y1 and y2 received by the destination  at the third  and fourth
∗
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In time slots
 are given by
 y 1 = β f 1 r11 − f 2 r22 + v1 and
∗
Section II, we describe the system model of the distributed y2 = β f1 r12 + f2 r21 + v2 , where vi is the AWGN at the
Alamouti’s code for cooperative diversity networks. In Section destination node with vi ∼ CN (0, σv2 ). The received signals
III, we derive BER expressions for the system with and can be rewritten in a matrix form:
without the direct path component. In Section IV, we give 
y = Ps βHx + βn + v, (3)
numerical results. Finally, conclusions are drawn in Section
V. where y = [y1 , y2∗ ]T , x = [x1 , x∗2 ]T , H =
Notation: Bold upper and lower letters denote matrices
 and
 [f1 h1 , −f2 h2 ; f2 h2 , f1 h1 ], n = [f1 n11 − f2 n∗22 , f1∗ n∗12 +
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗

U1 f2∗ n21 ]T , and v = ∗ T

√ [v1 , v2 ] 3 . Note that y consists of the
column vectors, respectively. Also, [U1 ; U2 ] denotes ;
U2 signal component Ps βHx, the amplified noise component
IK the K ×K identity matrix; 0N ×M the N ×M all zero ma- βn at the relays, and the noise v at the destination node.
trix; Ex [·] the expectation operation with respect to x; X2 Let x̂1 and x̂2 denote the maximum-likelihood (ML) es-
the squared Frobenius norm of X. We use A := B to denote timates of x1 and x2 . It is well-known that a maximum-
that A, by definition, equals B and we use A =: B to denote ratio-combiner (MRC) yields the ML performance if channels
that B, by definition, equals A. Finally, x ∼ CN (μ, Ω) means are independent and noises are AWGNs; therefore, the ML
that x is a circularly symmetric complex Gaussian random estimates x̂ := [x̂1 , x̂∗2 ]T at the destination node can be
variable with mean μ and variance Ω, and x ∼ CN (µ, Ω) obtained by the MRC estimates [10]
means that x is a circularly symmetric complex Gaussian 1 β
random vector with mean vector µ and covariance matrix Ω. x̂ = 2 H0 z + HH y, (4)
σw N
where z = [z1 , z2∗ ]T , H0 = [h∗0 , 0; 0, h0 ], and N =
II. S YSTEM M ODEL
β 2 f 2 σn2 + σv2 with f = [f1 , f2 ]T .4 Since HH H =
Consider a cooperative diversity network consisting of a H2 I2 /2, substituting (1) and (3) into (4) yields
source, two relays, and a destination node where each node   |h0 |2 β 2 H2

has a single antenna. There are two different signal path com- x̂ = Ps 2
+ x
ponents: a direct path component and a relay path component. σw 2N
Let x1 and x2 be the symbols, which are selected from M - 1 β2 H β
+ 2 H0 w + H n + HH v, (5)
PAM or M -QAM constellation with unit power, transmitted σw N N
by the source at the first and second time slots, and Ps the where w = [w1 , w2∗ ]T .
transmission power. For the direct path component, the signals As a special case, one can consider a system without the
z1 and z2 received by the destination at the first and second direct path component, where the channel gain of the direct
time slots are given by path is zero: h0 = 0. Then the ML estimates x̂ of (5) can be
 simplified as
zi = Ps h0 xi + wi , i = 1, 2, (1) √
Ps β 2 H2 β2 H β
where h0 is the channel gain from the source to the des- x̂ = x+ H n + HH v. (6)
2N N N
tination node which is fixed during two time slots with
h0 ∼ CN (0, Ω0 ). Also, wi is the AWGN at the destination III. BER A NALYSIS FOR A S YSTEM WITH AND WITHOUT
THE D IRECT PATH C OMPONENT
node with wi ∼ CN (0, σw 2
). For the relay path component,
the signals rj1 and rj2 received by the jth relay at the first In this section, we first consider a cooperative diversity
and second time slots are given by network with the direct path component. We begin by ob-
 taining the instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the
rji = Ps hj xi + nji , j, i = 1, 2, (2)
2 In this respect, our relay scheme can be categorized as a “blind” one [23].
where hj is the channel gain from the source to the jth 3 The symbols x are transmitted through the product of two independent
relay node which is fixed during two time slots with hj ∼ fading channels, f1 h1 and f2 h∗2 in H, whose statistical properties were
studied in [24], [25]. However, our analysis directly utilizes the probability
CN (0, Ω1 ). Also, nji is the AWGN at each relay node with density function (PDF) of each individual channel, h0 , h1 , h2 , f1 and f2 , not
nji ∼ CN (0, σn2 ). that of the product of two independent channels. Thus, the results of [24] and
Each relay node assists the communication from the source [25] are not directly applicable to our analysis.
4 In order to detect the transmitted symbols, the destination only needs to
to the destination node using the amplify-and-forward pro- know h0 and H, or equivalently f1 h1 and f2 h∗2 , not the individual channel
tocol. Each relay node multiplies the incoming signal with coefficients: f1 , f2 , h1 , and h2 .

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
2382 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 8, AUGUST 2009

ML estimate. It can be shown that the instantaneous SNR γT independent. Since a2 = ã2 , the MGF of a2 is given
of the ML estimate x̂i for i = 1, 2 of (5) is given by by
 
H2 /2
r 
γT = + |h0 |2 γ0 , (7) Ma2 (s) = E exp s ζi
f 2 /γ1 + 1/(β 2 γ2 )
i=1
where γ1 = Ps /σn2 ,
γ2 = Ps /σv2 ,
and γ0 = Using (7), 2
Ps /σw . 
r
1
for M -PAM and M -QAM constellations, we derive the exact = ,
i=1
1 − sλi
BER expression in a one-integral form and a series expansion
of BER approximation. Also, we analytically show that the which completes the proof. 
series is convergent. Then we consider a cooperative diversity Using Lemma 1, Pb (γT , g|f ) can be given by
network without the direct path component. Since a system
1 π/2 1 
2
without the direct path component is a special case of a system 1
Pb (γT , g|f ) = dθ, (9)
with the direct path component, we can easily derive the exact π 0 1 + α0 i=1 1 + α1 ti
BER expression in a one-integral form. Also, we obtain a  
series expansion of the exact BER expression. where
ti = |fi |2 , α0 = gΩ0 γ0 / 2sin2 θ , and α1 =
 
gΩ1 / 2 sin2 θ (t1 + t2 )/γ1 + 1/(β 2 γ2 ) . Taking expectation
of Pb (γT , g|f ) over f gives
A. The Exact BER Expression in a One-Integral Form for a

System with the Direct Path Component 1 π/2 ∞ ∞ 1 
2
1
Pb (γT , g) =
We first derive the exact BER expression for M -PAM and π 0 0 0 1 + α 0 i=1 1 + α1 ti
M -QAM constellations. Let us define the error probability exp(−(t1 + t2 )/Ω2 )
Pb (γT , g) as follows: · dt1 dt2 dθ. (10)
Ω22
√ 
Pb (γT , g) := Eh,f [Q gγT ], The error probability Pb (γT , g) in a triple-integral form of (10)
can be solved into a much simpler expression in a one-integral
where h = [h0 , h1 , h2 ]T and g is constant and has a different form. The mathematical derivation is given in Appendix A,
value depending on the constellation size, which will be and the final expression is presented as follows:
explained in the later part of this subsection. Using Craig’s
formula for the Gaussian Q-function [26], the conditional error 1 ∞ exp(−τ /Ω2 )
Pb (γT , g) = F1 (τ /(aτ +b), d)(aτ +b) dτ,
probability Pb (γT , g|h, f ) can be rewritten as 2 0 Ω22
(11)

1 π/2 gγT  where a = 2/(gΩ1 γ1 ), b = 2/(gβ 2 Ω1 γ2 ), and d = gΩ0 γ0 /2.

Pb (γT , g|h, f ) = exp − dθ.
π 0 2 sin2 θ Also, F1 (c, d) is
With a modification of [27, Theorem 4.1], the following F1 (c, d)
lemma can be proved. ⎧ √ √ √
⎪
⎪ (c − c2 + c) + (1 − c − 2d) ln( 1 + c + c)
Lemma 1: Assume a K × 1 vector a ∼ CN (0K×1 , Ω). ⎪
⎪ 3 √ √
⎪
⎪ + (c−2d)c√c2 +2c ln( 1 + c + 2 + c)
Let {λ1 , · · · , λr } be the nonzero eigenvalues of Ω. Then the ⎪
⎪ √ 
⎪
⎨ −
3
4d√
ln( 1 + c + c + c/d), c = 2d,
moment generating function (MGF) of a2 is given by 2
(c−2d) d +d
=
3/2 √ √
⎪ (1 + 2(2 + c)) c
⎪
 r
1 ⎪
⎪ c+2 ln( 1 + c + 2 + c)
Ma2 (s) = Ea exp(sa2 ) = . (8) ⎪
⎪ √ √ √ √
1 − sλi ⎪
⎪ c3/2
i=1 ⎪ − 2+c (√ 2 + c − 1 + c) + (1 − 2c) ln( 1 + c + c)
⎩
+(c − c2 + c), c = 2d,
Proof: Consider the following eigenvalue decomposition: (12)
  H 
Δ 0r×(K−r) U where c = τ /(aτ + b).
Ω = [U, U0 ] ,
0(K−r)×r 0(K−r)×(K−r) UH0 With a Gray code bit mapping, for a given SNR γT , we can
where Δ = diag{λ1 , · · · , λr } is a positive definite diagonal obtain the exact BER of the kth bit of M -PAM over Rayleigh
matrix of dimension r × r, U is a K × r matrix and U0 is a fading channels as follows [28, eq. (9)]:
K × (K − r) matrix. Note that [U, U0 ] is a unitary matrix. (1−2−k )M−1

2
Let us define ã := [UH ; UH 0 ]a. Then it can be shown that PeM−P AM (k, γT ) = BM,l Pb (γT , g), (13)
ã ∼ CN (0K×1 , [Δ, 0r×(K−r); 0(K−r)×r , 0(K−r)×(K−r) ]). M
l=0
Since Δ is a diagonal matrix, all the elements of ã are
where g = (2l + 1)2 (6/(M 2 − 1)), BM,l =
independent. It follows that l·2k−1 /M k−1
(−1) (2 − l · 2k−1 /M + 1/2), and 

r 
r
denotes the largest integer less than or equal to . Then the
ã2 = |ãi |2 = ζi , exact average BER of M -PAM is given by [28, eq. (10)]
i=1 i=1

1 
log2 M
where ζi = |ãi |2 is an exponentially distributed random PeM−P AM (γT ) = PeM−P AM (k, γT ). (14)
variable with mean λi and all the elements of {ζi }ri=1 are log2 M
k=1

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
JU et al.: EXACT BER ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ALAMOUTI’S CODE FOR COOPERATIVE DIVERSITY NETWORKS 2383

In addition, for a rectangular M -QAM, the average BER can 10

Exact Q(x)−function
be obtained through a method similar to M -PAM. Consider the Approximation Qconv (x) of (17)
approx

I ×J rectangular QAM, where there are two independent PAM

constellations: I-ary PAM for the in-phase component and J-
ary PAM for the quadrature component. With the change of −1

M = I × J and g = (2l + 1)2 (6/(I 2 + J 2 − 2)), we can obtain 10

the exact average BER of M -QAM [28, eq. (22)]:

⎛
1 
log2 I
PeM−QAM (γT ) = ⎝ PeI−P AM (k; γT )
log2 (I · J)
k=1 −2

⎞ 10


log2 J
+ PeJ−P AM (m; γT )⎠ . (15)
m=1

Note that we can also obtain the exact BER √ expression of the −3
10
square M -QAM by substituting I = J = M in (15). 0 0.5 ε
≈ 0.665
1 1.5
x
2 2.5 3

If there were no noise σv2 = 0 at the destination node of

the relay path, then b = 0 and c = 1/a, and thus, (11) could
be solved into a closed-form expression as Fig. 1. The comparison of the exact Q(x) and the approximation
approx (x) of (17).
Qconv
a
Pb (γT , g) = F1 (a−1 , d). (16)
2
In this case, c = 2d is equivalent to Ω1 γ1 = 2Ω0 γ0 and difference between the exact BER and the approximate BER
c = 2d is equal to Ω1 γ1 = 2Ω0 γ0 . Although (16) has little obtained by (17) given the magnitude |h| of the channel
practical importance because the noise at the destination of and SNR γ = P Tx /σnoise 2
, where P Tx is the transmission
the relay path is ignored, it gives an asymptotic performance signal power and σnoise is the noise power. Then, for BPSK,
2
when γ2 = ∞. In order to obtain the exact BERs, the closed- Θconv (γ, |h|) is given by
form expression (16) is substituted into (13), which in turn  
substituted into (14) and (15). Θconv (γ, |h|) = Q( 2|h|2 γ) − Qconv 2
approx ( 2|h| γ). (18)
Note that the obtained BER expressions are truly exact;
but they require a numerical computation due to the single For a Rayleigh fading channel with variance Ω, the difference
integration of (11). In Section III.C, we take another approach. Θ̄conv (γ) between the two average BERs is given by
Specifically, we derive a series expansion of BER approxima- Θ̄conv (γ) = E|h| [Θconv (γ, |h|)]
tion which can be computed without such numerical method.
= Pe,exact (γ) − Pe,approx
conv
(γ), (19)
Before this, in the next subsection, we propose a modified
method for an approximation of the Q-function. where

 
B. A Modified Method for an Approximation of the Q- Pe,exact (γ) = E|h| Q 2|h|2 γ
  
Function 1 Ωγ
In [29], the Q-function was approximated as a summation = 1− ,
2 1 + Ωγ
of two exponential functions: 
 
1 1 Pe,approx
conv
(γ) = E|h| Qconv
approx 2|h|2 γ
Qconv
approx (x) := exp(−x2 /2) + exp(−2x2 /3), x≥0
12 4 1 −1 1  −1
(17) = 1 + Ωγ + 1 + 4Ωγ/3 .
12 4
≈ Q(x).
From Fig. 1, it can be easily seen that Θ̄conv (γ) of (19) can
In AWGN channels, this approximation is very accurate in be divided into two parts, the positive part Θ̄conv,1 (γ) and the
a high SNR regime. In a low SNR regime, however, the negative part Θ̄conv,2 (γ), as follows:
approximation is less accurate. In order to demonstrate this
Θ̄conv (γ) = Θ̄conv,1 (γ) + Θ̄conv,2 (γ), (20)
inaccuracy, we plot two curves using Q(x) and Qconv approx (x)
over small x values, 0 ≤ x ≤ 3 (−∞ dB < x ≤ 4.77 where
dB), in Fig. 1. Specifically, if x is smaller than  (≈ 0.665), √  
/ 2γ
2|h| |h|2
approx (x); if x is larger than , Q(x) < Qapprox (x).
Q(x) > Qconv conv
Θ̄conv,1 (γ) = Θconv (γ, |h|) exp − d|h|
We found that the effect of this low SNR regime was not 0 Ω Ω
approx (x) was used to obtain the average
negligible when Qconv > 0,
BER for Rayleigh fading channels. ∞  
2|h| |h|2
For simplicity of discussion, we first consider binary phase Θ̄conv,2 (γ) = √
Θconv (γ, |h|) exp − d|h|
/ 2γ Ω Ω
shift keying (BPSK) constellation. This will be later gener-
alized to QAM constellations. Let Θconv (γ, |h|) denote the < 0.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
2384 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 8, AUGUST 2009

By simulations, however, we found that |Θ̄conv,1 (γ)| = can also be almost zero. In this paper, the optimum values
|Θ̄conv,2 (γ)|, which resulted in Θ̄conv (γ) = 0. In order to (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) are selected to minimize Φ̄proposed (ρ1 , ρ2 ):
quantify the difference, we define Φconv (γ) as the relative
error of Θ̄conv (γ) normalized by the exact BER Pe,exact (γ) (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = arg min Φ̄proposed (ρ1 , ρ2 ). (27)
ρ1 ,ρ2 ≥0
as follows:
Θ̄conv (γ) With extensive numerical calculations, for a Rayleigh fading
Φconv (γ) := . (21)
Pe,exact (γ) channel with Ω = 1, we obtained the optimum values
(ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.63, 0.68) for BPSK. For this case, the minimum
In Fig. 2, we plot Φconv (γ) using Ω = 1. It can be seen that average relative error is given by Φ̄proposed (0.63, 0.68) =
this relative error is rather large. For example, Φconv (γ) ≈ 8 % 0.2633 %, which is much smaller than the average relative
for γ ≥ 10 dB. We also define the average of the relative error of the conventional approximation Φ̄conv = 7.2643 %.
error Φconv (γ) over an SNR range of interest, 0 ≤ γ ≤ Γ, as We now extend the proposed approximation method to
follows: general constellations, M -PAM and M -QAM. As reported
1 Γ in [28], for M -PAM and M -QAM constellations, the ex-
Φ̄conv = Φconv (γ)dγ. (22)
Γ 0 act closed-form BER expressions over AWGN channels are
In this paper, we choose the SNR upper limit Γ such that given  by linear combinations
 of the Q-functions as fol-
K
Pe,exact (γ) is no larger than 10−6 , which is a reasonable BER lows: D
k=1 k Q( g k |h|2 γ), where K, D , and g
k k are
range. We compute this average relative error Φ̄conv and it is determined depending on the constellation considered. For
Φ̄conv = 7.2643 %, which is again rather large. Overall, we these M -PAM and M -QAM constellations, we take exactly
arrive at a conclusion that (17) does not give a very accurate the same approach to obtain the optimum values (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ).
average BER for a Rayleigh fading channel. It should be noted that the optimum values (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) gen-
In the following, in order to reduce the error substantially erally depend on the constellation. With extensive simula-
we modify (17) by adjusting the two exponents. Specifically, tions, however, we found that one could still use the same
for x ≥ 0, we approximate the Q-function as values (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.63, 0.68), which was obtained for
BPSK, for other constellations such as 4-PAM, quadrature
1 1 PSK (QPSK), 8-PAM, 16-QAM, and 64-QAM, with very
Qproposed
approx (x, ρ1 , ρ2 ) := exp(−ρ1 x2 ) + exp(−ρ2 x2 ).
12 4 marginal increases of the average error Φ̄proposed (ρ1 , ρ2 ). As
(23)
an example, for 16-QAM, the actual optimum values are
As before, we define Θ̄proposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) to be the difference
between the exact average BER Pe,exact (γ) and the approxi- (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.72, 0.65), which are different from (0.63, 0.68).
The obtained minimum average error with the optimum values
mate average BER Pe,approx
proposed
(γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) over a Rayleigh fading
is Φ̄proposed(0.72, 0.65) = 0.8414 %. We also compute the
channel with variance Ω as follows:
average error obtained with the previous values (0.63, 0.68)
Θ̄proposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) = Pe,exact (γ) − Pe,approx
proposed
(γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ), and it is given by Φ̄proposed (0.63, 0.68) = 0.8448 %. Note
(24) that this value 0.8448 % is very close to the minimum value
where 0.8414 %; the difference is only 0.0034 %. That is, for those
constellations mentioned above, one may use the same values
Pe,approx
proposed
(γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.63, 0.68) as the optimum choice. Finally, we

 
would like to emphasize again that, compared to the con-
= E|h| Qproposed
approx 2|h|2 γ, ρ1 , ρ2
ventional approximation of (17), the proposed approximation
1 −1 1  −1 yields much smaller average errors for all of those constella-
= 1 + 2ρ1 Ωγ + 1 + 2ρ2 Ωγ .
12 4 tions. As an example, for 16-QAM, the error obtained by the
As in (21), we define Φproposed(γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) as the relative conventional approximation is given by Φ̄conv = 6.3927 %,
error of Θ̄proposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) normalized by the exact BER which is much larger than the value, 0.8448 %, obtained by
Pe,exact (γ) as follows: the proposed approximation with (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.63, 0.68).
So far, we have considered a classical single-hop single-
Φproposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) :=
Θ̄proposed(γ, ρ1 , ρ2 )
. (25) branch channel. The proposed approximation method is also
Pe,exact (γ) applicable to single-hop multi-branch Rayleigh fading chan-
nels. For single-hop K-branch channels, we obtained the
Also, Φ̄proposed (ρ1 , ρ2 ) is defined as the average of the relative optimum values (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) for BPSK as follows: (0.47, 0.82) for
error over an SNR range of interest, 0 ≤ γ ≤ Γ: K = 2; (0.47, 0.82) for K = 3; (0.48, 0.79) for K = 4; and
(0.48, 0.79) for K = 5. For K = 1, 2, and 3, the relative error
1 Γ
Φ̄proposed(ρ1 , ρ2 ) = Φproposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 )dγ, (26) Φconv (γ) of (21) and the relative error Φproposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 )
Γ 0
of (25) are compared in Fig. 2. In this figure, it can be
where the SNR upper limit Γ is again chosen such that easily seen that the proposed approximation has much smaller
Pe,exact (γ) is no larger than 10−6 . errors. Also, we can show that the average errors are signifi-
If the values ρ1 and ρ2 are properly selected, for Rayleigh cantly reduced by the proposed approximation. For example,
fading channels, the relative error Φproposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) can Φ̄proposed (0.47, 0.82) = 0.1368 % and Φ̄conv = 18.9041 %
be almost zero over the SNR range of interest, 0 ≤ γ ≤ Γ, for K = 2; Φ̄proposed (0.47, 0.82) = 0.2424 % and Φ̄conv =
which implies that the average relative error Φ̄proposed (ρ1 , ρ2 ) 21.4691 % for K = 3; Φ̄proposed (0.48, 0.79) = 0.4303 % and

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
JU et al.: EXACT BER ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ALAMOUTI’S CODE FOR COOPERATIVE DIVERSITY NETWORKS 2385

40
Φconv(γ) of (21), K = 1
where α2 = 1/(a0 (t1 +t2 )+b0 ) with a0 = a/ρ = 2/(ρgΩ1 γ1 )
Φ (γ,ρ ,ρ ) of (25) with (ρ , ρ ) = (0.63,0.68), K = 1 and b0 = b/ρ = 2/(ρgβ 2 Ω1 γ2 ). With some mathematical
35 proposed 1 2 1 2
Φ
conv
(γ) of (21), K = 2 manipulation, which is given in Appendix B, U0 (γT , g, ρ) in
30
Φ
proposed
(γ,ρ ,ρ ) of (25) with (ρ , ρ ) = (0.47,0.82), K = 2
1 2 1 2 a double-integral form of (30) can be solved into an infinite
Φconv(γ) of (21), K = 3
Φproposed(γ,ρ1,ρ2) of (25) with (ρ1, ρ2) = (0.47,0.82), K = 3
series expression as follows:
25
U0 (γT , g, ρ)
Relative error (%)

    
20 2a20 a0 + 1 − b 1 b1 b1
= exp E1
2a0 + 1 a0 + 1 a +1 a +1
15  0   0
a0 − b 1 b1 b1
− exp E1
10 a0 a0 a0
    
4a0 b1 (a0 + 1) b1 b1
5
+ exp E1
(2a0 + 1)2 a0 + 1 a +1
   0
b1 b1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 − exp E1
γ (dB) a0 a0
∞ 2
 
4b1 2b1
+ Γ(2k)Ψ 2k, 1, ,
Fig. 2. The relative error Φconv (γ) of (21) and the relative error (2k − 1)(2a0 + 1)2k+2 2a0 + 1
Φproposed (γ, ρ1 , ρ2 ) of (25) for BPSK. Ω = 1 and K is the number of k=1
branches. (31)

where 2
 ∞ 1 b1 = b0 /Ω2 = 2/(ρgβ Ω1 Ω2 γ2 ), E1 (s) =
Φ̄conv = 21.1561 % for K = 4; and Φ̄proposed (0.48, 0.79) = exp(−u)du is the exponential integral function, Γ(·)
s u ∞ p−1
0.6580 % and Φ̄conv = 19.3752 % for K = 5. is the gamma function, and Ψ(p, q, s) = Γ(p) 1
0 u (u +
Finally, the proposed approximation method is applied to 1)q−p−1 exp(−su)du is the confluent hypergeometric function
the distributed Alamouti’s-coded system with the direct path of the second kind [30, eq. (9.211.4)]. Through numerical
(and without the direct path), where there exist a single- results in Section
hop direct path from the source to the destination and two ∞ IV, it will be demonstrated that the infinite
summation k=1 of (31) can be accurately approximated
relay paths with two-hops. For this system, we obtain the L
by a finite summation k=1 with a small truncation win-
optimum values as follows: (ρ̂1 , ρ̂2 ) = (0.47, 0.82). With these
dow L. Let Û0,L (γT , g, ρ) denote U0 (γT , g, ρ) of (31) with
optimum values, the achieved minimum average error is given ∞ L
by Φ̄proposed (0.47, 0.82) = 0.2524 %. On the other hand, the k=1 replaced by k=1 . Substituting Û0,L (γT , g, ρ) into
(29) gives the approximate expression of Pb (γT , g), which in
average error obtained by the conventional approximation of
turn is substituted into (13). Finally, closed-form finite series
(17) is Φ̄conv = 18.3752 %, which is considerably larger than
BER approximations are obtained by (14) and (15) with the
0.2524 %. The conventional approximation of (17) and the
PeM−P AM (k, γT ).
modified approximation of (23) are numerically compared in
Section IV for the distributed Alamouti’s code. In the following, we test the convergence of the infinite
series BER approximation based on (28).
C. A Series Expansion of a BER Approximation for a System Theorem 1: Let E1 (L) denote the truncation error: E1 (L) :=
with the Direct Path Component U0 (γT , g, ρ) − Û0,L (γT , g, ρ). Then E1 (L) approaches zero
when L → ∞.
In this subsection, using the modified approximation of
Proof: From (31), E1 (L) can be given by
(23), we derived a series expansion of a BER approxima-
tion for a system with a direct path component. Defining ∞
  
4b21 2b1
U(γT , g, ρ) := Eh,f [exp(−ρgγT )] and using (23), Pb (γT , g) E1 (L) = Ξ1 2k, ,
(2k − 1)(2a0 + 1)2k+2 2a0 + 1
can be approximated as follows: k=L+1
√  (32)
Pb (γT , g) = Eh,f [Q gγT ] where Ξ1 (n, s) = Γ(n)Ψ(n, 1, s). By definition, Ξ1 (n, s) is
1 1 given by
≈ U(γT , g, ρ1 ) + U(γT , g, ρ2 ), (28)
12 4 ∞
where (ρ1 , ρ2 ) = (0.47, 0.82). It follows from Lemma 1 that un−1
Ξ1 (n, s) = exp(−su)du.
U(γT , g, ρ) can be given by 0 (u + 1)n
1 For s > 0, since un−1 ≤ (u + 1)n−1 for u ≥ 0 and n ≥ 1, it
U(γT , g, ρ) = U0 (γT , g, ρ), (29)
1 + d0 can be shown that
where d0 = ρd = ρgΩ0 γ0 /2. Also, U0 (γT , g, ρ) is ∞
1
∞ ∞ 2 Ξ1 (n, s) ≤ exp(−su)du
1 0 u + 1
U0 (γT , g, ρ) =
0 0 1 + α2 ti = E1 (s) exp(s) =: Ξ1,max (s). (33)
i=1
exp(−(t1 + t2 )/Ω2 ) Note that when s is bounded, Ξ1 (n, s) is bounded because
· dt1 dt2 , (30)
Ω22 both E1 (s) and exp(s) are bounded. Using (33), it can be

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
2386 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 8, AUGUST 2009

shown that E1 (L) is upper bounded by If there were no noise σv2 = 0 at the destination node of
∞  2k+2 the relay path, then b = 0 and c = 1/a, and thus, (36) could
 2 1 be solved into a closed-form expression as
E1 (L) ≤ C1
2k − 1 2a0 + 1 a
k=L+1 Pb (γT , g) = F1 (a−1 , d = 0). (38)
  1 2k+2
∞ 2
≤ 2C1 , (34) This gives an asymptotic performance when γ2 = ∞. Note
2a0 + 1 that the above expression is identical to [11, eq. (15)] when
k=L+1
Ω1 = 1, g = 2, and BPSK or QPSK constellation is
where C1 = 2b21 Ξ1,max (2b1 /(2a0 + 1)). Since 0 ≤ (2a0 + used. Therefore, our analysis in this subsection can be also
1)−1 < 1, it can be easily shown that E1 (L) approaches zero considered a generalization of the result of [11].
when L → ∞.  Finally, the exact error probability Pb (γT , g), (36) when
It follows from Theorem 1 that the series representation σv2 = 0 or (38) when σv2 = 0, is substituted into (13), which
(31) and the approximate expression of Pb (γT , g) in (28) are in turn is substituted into (14) and (15).
convergent. Then it is evident that the final infinite series BER 2) A Series Expansion of the Exact BER Expression: Since
approximation is also convergent. α0 = 0 in (10) for a system without the direct path, Pb (γT , g)
Until now, we have considered a relay network with the can be simplified as
direct path component. If the distance between the source
1 π/2 ∞ ∞ 
2
1
and the destination node is very long or there are some Pb (γT , g) =
obstacles between the two nodes, however, one sometimes π 0 0 0 i=1
1 + α1 ti
cannot consider any direct path signal. In such cases, only the exp(−(t1 + t2 )/Ω2 )
relay path component is available. In the next subsection, we · dt1 dt2 dθ. (39)
Ω22
consider a relay network without any direct path component.
The error probability Pb (γT , g) in a triple-integral form of
(39) can be solved into an infinite series expression. The
D. BER Analysis for a System without the Direct Path Com- mathematical derivation is given in Appendix C, and the final
ponent expression is presented in the following:

It can be shown that the instantaneous SNR γT of the ML Pb (γT , g)

⎧
 ∞
estimate x̂i for i = 1, 2 of (6) is given by ⎪
⎪ 1
− 12 (2a+1) a 1
3/2 + (2a+1)1/2 + √2π k=2 2k−1 1
⎪
⎪ 2
 
⎪
⎪  ai+2
H2 /2 ⎪
⎪ · 2k−3i=0 (−2)
i 2k−3 Γ(2.5+i)
i+5/2 , b2 = 0,
γT = . (35) ⎪
⎪ i

Γ(3+i) (2a+1)
f 2 /γ1 + 1/(β 2 γ2 ) ⎪
⎪ 4ab22 Γ(3.5)
⎪
⎪
1
− 1 2b2
7/2 Ψ 3.5, 3, 2a+1
⎨ 2 22 (2a+1) 

!
Using (35), for M -PAM and M -QAM constellations, we first = 2b2 Γ(2.5)
+ (2a+1)5/2 Ψ 2.5, 2, 2a+1 2b2
+ 2Ψ 2.5, 3, 2a+1 2b2
derive the exact BER expression in a one-integral form and ⎪
⎪ ∞ 2k−3  
⎪
⎪ √2 1 i 2k−3 Γ(2.5+i)
then a series expansion of the exact BER expression in the ⎪
⎪ + (−2)
⎪
⎪
π k=2 2k−1 i=0
i+2 i+2 22−j ai−j+2 b22 Γ(i−j+4.5)
i Γ(3+i)
following. ⎪
⎪ · j=0 j
⎪
⎪

(2a+1)i−j+9/2
1) The Exact BER Expression in a One-Integral Form: ⎪
⎪
⎩ · Ψ i − j + 4.5, 3 − j, 2b2 , b2 = 0,
2a+1
Since a system without the direct path can be considered as
(40)
a special case of a system with the direct path, setting the
channel gain of the direct path to zero gives the exact error where b2 = b/Ω2 = 2/(gβ 2 Ω1 Ω2 γ2 ). In the above equation,
probability expression in a one-integral form.5 With h0 = 0, only the second case b2 = 0 is important because we have
therefore, (11) can be simplified as the exact closed-form solution to the first case b2 = 0 in
(38). Similarly to Section III.B, closed-form finite series BER
1 ∞ expressions can be obtained.
Pb (γT , g) = F1 (τ /(aτ + b), d = 0)
2 0 In the following, we discuss the convergence of the exact
exp(−τ /Ω2 ) infinite series BER expression based on (40). Defining the
· (aτ + b) dτ, (36)
Ω22 truncation error E2 (L) := Pb (γT , g) − P̂b,L (γT , g), it can be
shown that E2 (L) is given by
where  
∞
2  
2k−3
 √ √ 1 2k − 3 Γ(2.5 + i)
F1 (c, d = 0) = (c − c2 + c) + (1 − c) ln( 1 + c + c) E2 (L) = √ (−2)i
 π 2k − 1 i=0 i Γ(3 + i)
k=L+1
c3 √ √  
+ ln( 1 + c + 2 + c). (37) 
i+2
i + 2 22−j ai−j+2 b22
2+c · Ξ2 (i, j, 2b2 /(2a + 1)),
j (2a + 1)i−j+9/2
Since F1 (c, d = 0) is valid only when c = 2d, F1 (c, d = 0) j=0

can be obtained from the first case of (12) by setting d = 0. (41)

where Ξ2 (i, j, s) = Γ(i − j + 4.5)Ψ (i − j + 4.5, 3 − j, s).
5 In a similar way, we can obtain a series expansion of an approximate Since E2 (L) is an alternating series6 and has many complex
error probability for a system without the direct path component. However, ∞
6 An n
we do not present it because we derive a series expansion of the exact error alternating series is an infinite series of the form n=0 (−1) cn
probability. where cn ≥ 0.

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
JU et al.: EXACT BER ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ALAMOUTI’S CODE FOR COOPERATIVE DIVERSITY NETWORKS 2387

−1
1 10

0.9 γ = γ = 30 dB
1 2
γ = γ = 20 dB −2
1 2 10
0.8 γ1 = γ2 = 10 dB

0.7
−3
10
Normalized truncation error

0.6

BER
−4
0.5 10

0.4
−5
10
0.3 Approximation using (28) and (17), γ = 25 dB
2
Approximation using (28) and (23) with (ρ1, ρ2) = (0.47, 0.82), γ2 = 25 dB
0.2 −6 Exact one−integral form using (11), γ2 = 25 dB
10
Monte Carlo simulation, γ = 25 dB
2
0.1 Exact closed form using (16), γ2 = ∞
Monte Carlo simulation, γ = ∞
−7 2
10
5 10 15 20 25 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
L γ1 (dB)

Fig. 3. Normalized truncation error E2 (L)/E2 (1) versus truncation window Fig. 4. Average BER versus γ1 for a system with the direct path component.
L. β = 1, g = 2, and Ω1 = Ω2 = 1. L = 20, γ0 = 0 dB, and γ2 = 25 dB and ∞.

functions and three summations, it is very hard to prove −2

10
the convergence analytically.7 Thus, we test numerically the
convergence for various values of γ1 and γ2 . In Fig. 3, one can
see that E2 (L) approaches zero as L increases. This implies −3
10

that Pb (γT , g) of (40) is convergent.

Remark: The Diversity Order of the Distributed Alam- −4
10
outi’s Code: In previous works, the diversity order of the
BER

distributed Alamouti’s code was investigated for the two

cases: without and with the direct path component [11], [12]. −5
10

Firstly, when the direct path component was not considered, Approximation using (28) and (17), γ = 15 dB
1

the diversity order of the distributed linear dispersion (LD) Approximation using (28) and (23) with (ρ1, ρ2) = (0.47, 0.82), γ1 = 15 dB
Exact one−integral form using (11), γ = 15 dB
code with R relays and coherence interval T was proven
−6
10 1
Monte Carlo simulation, γ1 = 15 dB
to be min{T, R}[1 − log(log(Pt ))/ log(Pt )], where Pt was Exact one−integral form using (11), γ1 = ∞

the total power used in the whole network [12]. Since the −7
Monte Carlo simulation, γ = ∞
1
10
distributed Alamouti’s code is a special case of the distributed 0 5 10 15
γ2 (dB)
20 25 30

LD code with T = R = 2, the diversity order of the

distributed Alamouti’s code without the direct path component
is 2 − 2 log(log(Pt ))/ log(Pt ). Secondly, when the direct
path component was considered, the diversity order of the
distributed LD code was also reported in [12] and it was
1 + min{T, R}[1 − log(log(Pt ))/ log(Pt )]. Thus, the diversity
order of the distributed Alamouti’s code with the direct path
component is 3 − 2 log(log(Pt ))/ log(Pt ).
IV. N UMERICAL R ESULTS
This section presents some numerical results showing that
the proposed BER expressions are very effective methods
for BER evaluation of the distributed Alamouti’s code for
cooperative diversity networks. We compare the BERs ob-
tained by our analysis and by Monte Carlo simulations.
We fix all the variance of the channel coefficients to one
(Ω0 = Ω1 = Ω2 = 1) and
√ change γ0 , γ1 , and γ2 . Also,
we set Ps = 1 and β = 1/ 2, and we assume that the BPSK
constellation is used.
7 Among the series expansion approaches in literature [17]–[22], the conver-
gence was analytically proved only in few publications [19], [22]. In these few
works, however, the truncation error expressions were always simple: each of
them was not an alternating series and there was only one summation.
Fig. 5. Average BER versus γ2 for a system with the direct path component.
L = 20, γ0 = 10 dB, and γ1 = 15 dB and ∞.
Firstly, we consider a cooperative diversity network with
the direct path component. Fig. 4 shows the average BER
performance against γ1 for various γ2 when γ0 = 0 dB. Fig.
5 shows the average BER performance against γ2 for various
γ1 when γ0 = 10 dB. We compare the exact BER expression
in a one-integral form using (11), the exact closed-form BER
using (16) which is valid only when γ2 = ∞, a series
expansion of BER approximation using (28) and (17), and
a series expansion of BER approximation using (28) and (23)
with (ρ1 , ρ2 ) = (0.47, 0.82), and Monte Carlo simulations. It
can be seen that the exact BER expressions perfectly match
the simulation results, and the series expressions of BER are
very accurate, even with L = 20.
Secondly, we consider a cooperative diversity network
without the direct path component. Fig. 6 shows the average
BER performance against γ1 for various γ2 . We compare the
exact BER expression in a one-integral form using (36), the
exact closed-form BER using (38) which is valid only when

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
2388 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 8, AUGUST 2009

where

−1
10
τ
1 1
H(τ ) = dt1 .
0 1 + α1 t1 1 + α1 (τ − t1 )
−2
10
Taking a partial fraction expansion, H(τ ) can be solved as
τ
1 1 1
−3 H(τ ) = + dt1
10
(2 + α1 τ ) 0 1 + α1 t1 1 + α1 (τ − t1 )
BER

2 ln(1 + α1 τ )
= . (A.2)
−4
10 α1 (2 + α1 τ )
Substituting (A.2) into (A.1) yields
Exact series expression using (40), γ2 = 25 dB
−5
10 Exact one−integral form using (36), γ = 25 dB 2 ∞ exp(−τ /Ω2 )
Monte Carlo simulation, γ = 25 dB
2
Pb (γT , g) = FA (τ ) dτ, (A.3)
2 π 0 Ω22
Exact closed form using (38), γ2 = ∞

−6
10
Monte Carlo simulation, γ2 = ∞ where
0 5 10 15
γ (dB)
20 25 30 π/2
1 1 ln(1 + α1 τ )
FA (τ ) = dθ.
0 1 + α0 α1 (2 + α1 τ )
Fig. 6. Average BER versus γ1 for a system without the direct path
component. L = 20, and γ2 = 25 dB and ∞. Since α0 = d/ sin θ and α1 = 1/(sin2 θ(aτ + b)), it can be
2

shown that FA (τ ) is given by

FA (τ ) = (aτ + b)
γ2 = ∞, a series expansion of the exact BER expression ∞
ln(1 + c(1 + u2 ))
using (40), and Monte Carlo simulations. Again, it can be seen ·    du,
that the exact BER expressions perfectly match the simulation 0 (1 + u ) 1 + d(1 + u2 ) 2 + c(1 + u2 )
2 2

results, and the series expansion of BER expression is very (A.4)

accurate, even with L = 20. where u = 1/ tan θ. In (A.4), the denominator of the integrand
of the right-hand side can be expanded as
V. C ONCLUSIONS 1
  
(1 + u2 )2 1 + d(1 + u2 ) 2 + c(1 + u2 )
In this paper, we have analyzed the BER performance of the ⎧
⎪ c3
2(1+u2 )2 − 4(1+u2 ) +
1 c+2d
distributed Alamouti’s code for cooperative diversity networks ⎪
⎪ 4(c−2d)(2+c(1+u2 ))
⎪
⎨ − 3
adopting the amplify-and-forward protocol over Rayleigh fad- d
(c−2d)(1+d(1+u2 )) , c = 2d,
ing channels. It was assumed that a cooperative diversity = c2
⎪
⎪ 4(1+u2 )2 − 4(1+u2 ) +
1 c
network consisting of a source, two relays, and a destination ⎪
⎪ 4(2+c(1+u2 ))2
⎩ + c2
, c = 2d.
node had a symmetric architecture. For M -PAM and M -QAM 4(2+c(1+u2 ))
constellations, two scenarios have been considered: with and (A.5)
without the direct path component. For both cases, we have For p > 0, q > 0, r > 0, and s > 0, it can be shown that [30,
derived the exact BER expressions in a one-integral form, eqs. (4.295.25) and (4.295.7)]
which required numerical calculations. We also have taken an ∞    
ln(p2 + q 2 u2 ) π ps + qr qr
alternative approach, series expansion approach, which did not du = 3 ln − ,
require any numerical method. In this approach, we have first 0 (r2 + s2 u2 )2 2r s s ps + qr
derived a series expansion of a very accurate BER approx- (A.6)
∞ 2 2 2

imation for a system with the direct path and then a series ln(p + q u )
du =
π
ln p +
qr
. (A.7)
expansion of the exact BER expression for a system without 0 r 2 + s2 u 2 rs s
the direct path. The two infinite series BER expressions have Substituting (A.5) into (A.4) and using (A.6) and (A.7) give
been accurately approximated by finite series expressions and the final form of FA (τ ). Then (11) can be obtained by (A.3)
their accuracy has been confirmed by numerical results. In with the FA (τ ).
future work, we will investigate the BER performance of
the non-symmetric distributed Alamouti’s code with different A PPENDIX B
channel gains and different amplifying coefficients. T HE D ERIVATION OF U0 (γT , g, ρ)
Taking a similar step from (A.1) to (A.2), (30) can be given
A PPENDIX A by
T HE D ERIVATION OF AN E RROR P ROBABILITY Pb (γT , g) IN ∞
2 ln(1 + α2 τ ) exp(−τ /Ω2 )
A O NE -I NTEGRAL F ORM U0 (γT , g, ρ) = dτ. (B.1)
0 α2 (2 + α2 τ ) Ω22
Let us define τ := t1 + t2 and (10) can be rewritten as Since α2 = 1/(a0 τ + b0 ), (B.1) can be rewritten as
∞
1 π/2 ∞ H(τ ) exp(−τ /Ω2 ) 2(a0 τ + b0 )2
Pb (γT , g) = dτ dθ, (A.1) U0 (γT , g, ρ) = FB (τ )dτ, (B.2)
π 0 0 1 + α0 Ω22 0 (2a0 + 1)τ + 2b0

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
JU et al.: EXACT BER ANALYSIS OF DISTRIBUTED ALAMOUTI’S CODE FOR COOPERATIVE DIVERSITY NETWORKS 2389

where In order to facilitate the derivation, we use a series expansion

 
τ exp(−τ /Ω2 ) of ln(·). Since α1 = 1/(sin2 θ(aτ +b)), substituting (B.6) into
FB (τ ) = ln 1 + . (C.1) gives
a0 τ + b 0 Ω22
∞ ∞
Taking a partial fraction expansion, (B.2) can be expanded 4 1 τ 2k−1
into three terms as follows: Pb (γT , g) = FC (τ )
∞ π 2k − 1 0 (aτ + b)2k−2
k=1
2a20
U0 (γT , g, ρ) = τ FB (τ )dτ exp(−τ /Ω2 )
2a0 + 1 0 · dτ, (C.2)
Ω22
4a0 b0 (a0 + 1) ∞
+ FB (τ )dτ
(2a0 + 1)2 where
∞
0

2b20 FB (τ ) π/2
1
+ 2
dτ. FC (τ ) = dθ.
(2a0 + 1) 0 (2a0 + 1)τ + 2b0 (sin 2
θ)2k−2 [2 + τ /(sin2 θ(aτ + b))]2k
0
(B.3)
In order to solve the first and second terms of the right-hand It can be shown that FC (τ ) can be given by
side of (B.3), we first show the following two equations: ∞
∞ (1 + u2 )2k−3
FC (τ ) = du, (C.3)
p ln(qτ + r) exp(−pτ )dτ 0 (2 + c(1 + u2 ))2k
0     where u = 1/ tan θ. The integrand of the right-hand side of
pr pr
= ln(r) + exp E1 , (B.4) (C.3) can be expanded as
q q
∞
(1 + u2 )2k−3
p2 τ ln(qτ + r) exp(−pτ )dτ
(2 + c(1 + u2 ))2k
0     "
q − pr pr pr 4(1+u2 ) − 4(2+c(1+u
1 c
2 ))2 − 4(2+c(1+u2 )) ,
1
k = 1,
= 1 + ln(r) + exp E1 , (B.5) =   
q q q 2k−3
(2+c(1+u2 ))3+i , k ≥ 2.
1 i 2k−3 1
c2k−3 i=0 (−2) i
for p > 0, q > 0, and r > 0. Using (B.4) and (B.5), we (C.4)
can obtain the first and second terms of the right-hand side
of (31). For the third term of the right-hand side of (B.3), For 0 < r/s < n + 1, p = 0, and q = 0, it can be shown that
unlike the first two terms, we have no closed-form solution [30, eq. (3.241.4)]
to the integration. Thus, we solve this problem by using a ∞  r/s
series expansion of ln(·). For  > 0, ln() can be expanded ur−1 p Γ(r/s)Γ(1 + n − r/s)
s )n+1
du = .
as follows [30, eq. (1.512.2)]: 0 (p + qu q spn+1 Γ(1 + n)
 2k−1 (C.5)
∞
2 −1 By substituting (C.4) into (C.3) and using (C.5), we obtain
ln() = . (B.6)
2k − 1  + 1
k=1 FC (τ )
Substituting (B.6) into the third term of the right-hand side of ⎧
√ √ 
⎨ π 1− c
− c
, k = 1,
(B.3) gives 8 (2+c) 1/2 (2+c) 3/2

∞ = √ 2k−3  
FB (τ ) ⎩ 2k−5/2 π
(−2)i 2k−3 Γ(2.5+i)
, k ≥ 2.
2c i=0 i Γ(3+i)(2+c)i+5/2
dτ
0 (2a0 + 1)τ + 2b0 (C.6)
∞ ∞
2 τ 2k−1 exp(−τ /Ω2 ) Substituting (C.6) into (C.2) gives
= dτ.
2k − 1 0 ((2a0 + 1)τ + 2b0 )2k Ω22 
k=1
(B.7) 1 1 ∞ τ 3/2 (aτ + b)
Pb (γT , g) = −
2 2 0 ((2a + 1)τ + 2b)3/2
For [p] > 0, [q] > 0, [r] > 0, and a complex s, it can be 
τ 3/2 exp(−τ /Ω2 )
shown that [30, eq. (3.383.5)] + dτ
∞ ((2a + 1)τ + 2b) 1/2 Ω22
τ q−1  
exp(−pτ )dτ = r−q Γ(q)Ψ(q, q + 1 − s, p/r). ∞
2  1 
2k−3
s i 2k − 3 Γ(2.5 + i)
0 (1 + rτ ) +√ (−2)
(B.8) π 2k − 1 i=0 i Γ(3 + i)
k=2
Using (B.8), we can obtain the third term of the right-hand ∞ 3/2 i+2
τ (aτ + b) exp(−τ /Ω2 )
side of (31). · dτ.
0 ((2a + 1)τ + 2b)i+5/2 Ω22
A PPENDIX C (C.7)
T HE D ERIVATION OF A S ERIES E XPANSION OF Pb (γT , g) Furthermore, we consider two cases: b = 0.
 ∞ b = 0/Ωand
Taking similar steps from (A.1) to (A.3), (39) can be For b = 0, using the property 0 τ exp(−τ 2
2)
dτ = 1,
Ω2
rewritten as we can easily obtain the first part of the right-hand side of

2 ∞ π/2 ln(1 + α1 τ ) exp(−τ /Ω2 ) (40).
i+2Fori+2b =i−j+2
0, using a binomial expansion (aτ + b)i+2 =
Pb (γT , g) = dθdτ. bj τ i−j+2 and using (B.8), we can obtain
π 0 0 α1 (2 + α1 τ ) Ω22 j=0 j a
(C.1) the second part of the right-hand side of (40).

Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
2390
R EFERENCES
[1] V. Tarokh, N. Seshadri, and A. R. Calderbank, “Space-time codes for
high data rate wireless communication: performance criterion and code
construction,” IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 44, pp. 744–765, Mar.
1998.
[2] S. M. Alamouti, “A simple transmit diversity technique for wireless
communications,” IEEE J. Select. Areas Commun., vol. 16, pp. 1451–
1458, Oct. 1998.
[3] A. Sendonaris, E. Erkip, and B. Aazhang, “User cooperation diversity,
part I, II,” IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 51, pp. 1927–1948, Nov. 2003.
[4] J. N. Laneman and G. W. Wornell, “Distributed space-time-coded pro-
tocols for exploiting cooperative diversity in wireless networks,” IEEE
Trans. Inform. Theory, vol. 49, pp. 2415–2425, Oct. 2003.
[5] J. N. Laneman, D. N. C. Tse, and G. W. Wornell, “Cooperative diversity in
wireless networks: efficient protocols and outage behavior,” IEEE Trans.
Inform. Theory, vol. 50, pp. 3062–3080, Dec. 2004.
[6] M. O. Hasna and M.-S. Alouini, “End-to-end performance of transmission
systems with relays over Rayleigh-fading channels,” IEEE Trans. Wireless
Commun., vol. 2, pp. 1126–1131, Nov. 2003.
[7] Y. Hua, Y. Mei, and Y. Chang, “Parallel wireless mobile relays with space-
time modulations,” in Proc. IEEE WSSP2003, Sept. 2003, pp. 375–378.
[8] P. A. Anghel and M. Kaveh, “Exact symbol error probability of a
cooperative network in a Rayleigh-fading environment,” IEEE Trans.
Wireless Commun., vol. 3, pp. 1416–1421, Sept. 2004.
[9] A. Ribeiro, C. Xiaodong, and G. B. Giannakis, “Symbol error probabil-
ities for general cooperative links,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol.
4, pp. 1264–1273, May 2005.
[10] P. A. Anghel and M. Kaveh, “On the performance of distributed space-
time coding systems with one and two non-generative relays,” IEEE
Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 5, pp. 682–692, Mar. 2006.
[11] Y. Chang and Y. Hua, “Diversity analysis of orthogonal space-time
modulation for distributed wireless relays,” in Proc. IEEE ICASSP2004,
May 2004, pp. 561–564.
[12] Y. Jing and B. Hassibi, “Distributed space-time coding in wireless relay
networks,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 5, pp. 3524–3536, Dec.
2006.
[13] T. Unger and A. Klein, “On the performance of distributed space-time
block codes in cooperative relay networks,” IEEE Commun. Lett., vol.
11, pp. 411–413, May 2007.
[14] T. Q. Duong, N.-T. Nguyen, and V.-K. Nguyen, “Exact pairwise error
probability of distributed space-time coding in wireless relays networks,”
in Proc. ISCIT07, Oct. 2007, pp. 279–283.
[15] S. Savazzi and U. Spagnolini, “Distributed orthogonal space-time cod-
ing: design and outage analysis for randomized cooperation,” IEEE Trans.
Wireless Commun., vol. 6, pp. 4546–4557, Dec. 2007.
[16] H. Mheidat and M. Uysal, “Non-coherent and mismatched-coherent
receivers for distributed STBCs with amplify-and-forward relaying,”
IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 6, pp. 4060–4070, Nov. 2007.
[17] V. K. Prabhu, “PSK performance with imperfect carrier phase recovery,”
IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst., vol. 12, pp. 275–286, Mar. 1976.
[18] N. C. Beaulieu, “An infinite series for the computation of the comple-
mentary probability distribution function of a sum of independent random
variables and its application to the sum of Rayleigh random variables,”
IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 38, pp. 1463–1474, Sept. 1990.
[19] C. C. Tan and N. C. Beaulieu, “Infinite series representations of the bi-
variate Rayleigh and Nakagami-m distributions,” IEEE Trans. Commun.,
vol. 45, pp. 1159–1161, Oct. 1997.
[20] Y. Ma and T. J. Lim, “Bit error probability for MDPSK and NCFSK
over arbitrary Rician fading channels,” IEEE J. Select. Areas Commun.,
vol. 18, pp. 2179–2189, Nov. 2000.
[21] K. Sathananthan and C. Tellambura, “Probability of error calculation of
OFDM systems with frequency offset,” IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 49,
pp. 1884–1888, Nov. 2001.
[22] L. Xiao and X. Dong, “Error performance of orthogonal signaling family
in Ricean-fading channels with maximal ratio combining,” IEEE Trans.
Veh. Technol., vol. 53, pp. 1942–1947, Nov. 2004.
[23] M. O. Hasna and M.-S. Alouini, “A performance study of dual-hop
transmissions with fixed gain relays,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun.,
vol. 3, pp. 1963–1968, Nov. 2004.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering. Downloaded on July 29,2010 at 08:51:44 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. 57, NO. 8, AUGUST 2009
[24] J. Salo, H. M. El-Sallabi, and P. Vainikainen, “The distribution of
the product of independent Rayleigh random variables,” IEEE Trans.
Antennas and Propagation, vol. 54, pp. 639–643, Feb. 2006.
[25] C. S. Patel, G. L. Stüber, and T. G. Pratt, “Statistical properties of
amplify and forward relay fading channels,” IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol.,
vol. 55, pp. 1–9, Jan. 2006.
[26] J. W. Craig, “A new, simple and exact result for calculating the
probability of error for two-dimensional signal constellations,” in Proc.
IEEE MILCOM’91, Nov. 1991, pp. 571–575.
[27] E. G. Larsson and P. Stoica, Space-Time Block Coding for Wireless
Communications. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003.
[28] K. Cho and D. Yoon, “On the general BER expression of one- and two-
dimensional amplitude modulations,” IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. 50, pp.
1074–1080, July 2002.
[29] M. Chiani, D. Dardari, and M. K. Simon, “New exponential bounds
and approximations for the computation of error probability in fading
channels,” IEEE Trans. Wireless Commun., vol. 2, pp. 840–845, July
2003.
[30] I. S. Gradshteyn and I. M. Ryzhik, Table of Integrals, Series and
Products, 6th ed. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 2000.
MinChul Ju received the B.S. degree in Electrical
Engineering from Pohang University of Science
and Technology, Pohang, Korea, in 1997 and the
M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Ko-
rea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
(KAIST), Taejon, Korea, in 1999. He is now a
Ph.D. student at Queen’s University, ON, Canada.
From 1999 to 2005, he was a researcher at Ko-
rea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI), Korea.
During this period, he was involved in many projects
related with WPAN systems such as Bluetooth,
IEEE802.15.3, IEEE802.11, and HomeRF. His research interests are in the
areas of MIMO communications, cooperative diversity, and synchronization
in communication.
Hyoung-Kyu Song was born in CungCheong-
Bukdo, Korea on May 14 in 1967. He received B.S.,
M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electronic engineering
from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 1990, 1992,
and 1996, respectively. From 1996 to 2000 he had
been managerial engineer in Korea Electronics Tech-
nology Institute (KETI), Korea. Since 2000 he has
been an assistant professor of the Department of in-
formation and communications engineering, Sejong
University, Seoul, Korea. His research interests in-
clude digital and data communications, information
theory and their applications with an emphasis on mobile communications.
Il-Min Kim received the B.S. degree in electronics
engineering from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in
1996, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical
engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of
Science and Technology (KAIST), Taejon, Korea,
in 1998 and 2001, respectively. From October 2001
to August 2002 he was with the Dept. of Elec-
trical Engineering and Computer Sciences at MIT,
Cambridge, USA, and from September 2002 to June
2003 he was with the Dept. of Electrical Engineering
at Harvard, Cambridge, USA, as a Postdoctoral
Research Fellow. In July 2003, he joined the Dept. of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, where he is currently
an Assistant professor. His research interests include space-time codes,
cooperative diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, ultra
wide- band (UWB) communications, smart antennas. He is currently serving
as an Editor for IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON W IRELESS C OMMUNICATIONS
and J OURNAL OF C OMMUNICATIONS AND N ETWORKS (JCN).