UNIT 3

Bit Error Rate Analysis

 BER for BPSK MODULATION for Wired AWGN
Channel

• The theoretical equation for bit error rate (BER) with Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK)
modulation scheme in Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel will be derived.

• In BPSK the binary digits 1 and 0 maybe represented by the analog levels + 𝐸𝑏 and - 𝐸𝑏
respectively
As the noise, n, gets added to the received signal, the value of noise follows the
Gaussian probability distribution function given by,
• Bit Probability error , also called as BER for wired
channel with AWGN noise in terms of Q function is
given by
• BER=Q( )
• Approximate value of a Q function is given by
• Q(X)≤1/2 exp(-x2/2)
• Hence BER ≤1/2 exp(-SNR/2)

Problems:
1.At SNR=10db,what is BER for AWGN communication
system with BPSK modulation
2. What is SNR in db required for BER=10-6?
 BER Performance of Wireless System
• Rayleigh Fading Channel is useful for modeling
mobile wireless communication systems

 The wireless system model is given as

y  h x  n
N is the Additive white Gaussian noise at receiver with mean 0 and variance  2 i.e. N(0, 2)
 Wireless System Model
• The received signal is hx. Hence, the received
power is 2
h E x  h
2 2
P

– Received power is affected by the power 2 i.e. the

power of the fading channel coefficient h
j
h  ae  h  a
• Further, recall that
– Therefore, effective SNR at the receiver, denoted
by SNRe is, 2
h P a2 P 2
SNRe  2  2  a SNR
 
 Instantaneous BER
• Hence, the instantaneous BER as seen by the
current block of symbols is,
BER  Q   
SNRe  Q a 2 SNR 
• This is the instantaneous BER since it depends
on the instantaneous amplitude a of the
random fading channel coefficient h.
 Average BER
• To find the average BER over several blocks,
this has to be averaged over the distribution of
the amplitude a of the fading channel
coefficient.
• Recall the distribution f (a) of the Rayleigh
A

fading channel coefficient is.

a
f A (a)  2ae
2
 Average BER

• Hence, the average BER for the Rayleigh

fading channel with BPSK transmission is,
 

BER   f A (a )Q a 2 SNR da
0

 

BER   2ae  a Q a 2 SNR da
0

  1
1  u 2 duda
  2ae a
2
2
e
0 a SNR 2
 Average BER

• On further simplification, the average BER of

the wireless channel is obtained as,
  1
1  u 2 duda
BER   
a 2
2
2ae e
0 a SNR 2

1 SNR 
 1  
2 2  SNR 
• Problems:
1. Compute BER of wireless communication
system for SNR =20db.
2. Compute SNR db required for wireless system
for BER=10-6
 SNR Increase – The Key Effect
 Comparing the results of previous problems,
 The extra SNR required in a wireless channel
to achieve BER = 10-6 is

 Extra SNR ~ 57 dB – 14 dB = 43 dB

 Huge increase in SNR required to achieve

same BER i.e. 10-6 in a wireless channel
 SNR Increase – The Key Effect

• How large is increase in transmit power? For

similar noise power  2 i.e. receiver
sensitivity
 P wireless   P wireless 
10log10    10log10    43dB
     
2 2

 P wireless 
 10 log10  wireless  43dB
P 

P wireless  104.3  P wireless

 104.  P wireless
 Deep Fade Analysis of Wireless
Channel
• System is in deep fade, if Received Signal Power <
Noise Threshold
• y=hx+n,
• Recievd Signal Power= Pa2<
• If the signal strength dips so much that we are
not able to receive any meaningful signal power,
it is known as deep fade
i.e a2 <1/SNR or a<1/sqrt(SNR)
To improve performance avoiding ddep fades,
Principle of Diversity can be used.
 Deep Fade Analysis

• Why is the performance

of a wireless
communication system
poor?
– Can be explained based on
Deep Fade events in
wireless communication
– A Deep Fade denotes a
drastic decrease in the
Fig: Fading Channel power of the fading
wireless channel.
 Diversity

• Diversity is a key principle to overcome the

effects of deep fade in a fading wireless
channel.
 Single Link System
• Consider the typical
communication system
shown below with a
single link from the
Transmitter Receiver
transmitter to the receiver
Deep Fade • If this signal link is in a
Functional Link deep fade, it disrupts
communication
Fig: Single Link System – There is NO alternative
link between the
transmitter and receiver
 Principle of Diversity
 Consider now a system with
multiple links between transmitter
and receiver as shown.
 There are alternative paths/links
available for signal propagation
between transmitter and receiver
Transmitter Receiver
 Therefore communication is
NOT disrupted even when one
or a few of the links are in deep
fade –There is Diversity in the
system.
 This is the principle od
Fig: Multiple Links DIVERSITY
 Receive Diversity
 Consider transmitter with
single transmit antenna T1
and receiver with multiple
T1 h1 R1 i.e. two antennas R1, R2 as
shown
h2 2-Antenna  Hence, there are two links T1 –
Receiver R1 and T1 – R2 in this wireless
R2 system
 This is an example of
antenna Diversity - More
Fig: Antenna Receiver specifically Receiver
Antenna Diversity or also
known simply as Receive
Diversity
Receive Diversity – System Model
• Consider the simple two
receive antenna system
shown
– Let H1 denote the fading
coefficient between T1-R1.
– Let h2 denote the fading
coefficient between T1-R2
– y1 is the symbol received
on R1
– y2 is the symbol received
on R2
 Receive Diversity – System Model

 The system can be modeled as,

y1  h1 x  n1
y2  h2 x  n2
 The noise sample n1, n2 are IID Gaussian- N(0, 2 ).
 Therefore E{n1}=E{n2}=0. Further,

   
E n1
2
 E n2
2
2

 Future, assume noise samples spatially white – E{n1n2}=0

i.e. noise sample on different antennas are uncorrelated
Receive Diversity – Vector System Model
• The multiple antenna system model can be vectorized
as,
 y1   h1   n1 
 y   h  x  n 
 2  2  2

• y is the Receive signal vector

• h is the channel vector, containing channel
coefficients h1,h2
• n is the additive white Gaussian noise(AWGN)
vector.
• Hence, the compact vector system model is,
y= hx + n
 Diversity

• DIVERSITY is a key property used in several

3G/ 4G wireless system such as
– WCDMA
– HSDPA
– LTE
– WiMAX
 Average BER with Antennas L

• BER decreases with increase in number of

receive antennas L.
• For L antennas, as seen previously, the
approximate average BER with MRC is,
L
2 L 1  1 
BER  CL  
 2 SNR 
 Average BER with Antennas L

• Therefore, the BER expression for L = 1,2,3

1
 1  1 1
are, L  1; BER C 
1
1   
 2SNR  2SNR SNR
2
 1  3 1 1
L  2; BER3 C2    
 2SNR  4 SNR SNR
2 2

3
 1  5 1 1
L  3; BER5 C3    
 2SNR  4 SNR SNR
3 3
 Average BER with Antennas L

• In general, the average BER with L antennas is

1

SNR L

• Why is this arising

– To better understand this we have to once again
look at the Probability of Deep Fade
 Single Antenna System

T h R

Wireless Wireless
Transmitter Receiver

Fig: Single Antenna Fading

• Consider the single antenna system

1 shown

• the Probability of deep fadeSNR
is
 Multiple Antenna System

1
Pr  Ei  
SNR

• There are L links

• Let Ei donate the event that link I, 1≤ i ≤L is in
deep fade
 Multiple Antenna System

 Therefore , we have
1
Pr ( E1 ) 
SNR
1
Pr ( E2 ) 
SNR

:
:
1
Pr ( EL ) 
SNR
 Multiple Antenna System
R1
T1 h1

Wireless RL 2- Antenna
Transmitter hL Receiver

Fig: Multiple Antenna Fading

 For the system to be deep fade, all the links
have to be in deep fade
 Therefore, event E that the multiple antenna
wireless system is in deep fade is,
E  E1  E2  .......EL
 Multiple Antenna System

• Assuming now that the various link fade

independently, the probability of deep fade
PDF of the multiple antenna wireless system is,
PDF  Pr( E )  Pr( E1  E2  ......  EL )
Pr( E1 )  Pr( E2 )  .......  Pr( EL )
1 1 1
   ..... 
SNR SNR SNR

1

SNR L
 BER in Multiple Antenna System
• Thus the probability of deep fade in a multiple
1
antenna wireless system is  SNR L