Bit-error-probability for noncoherent orthogonal signals in fading with optimum combining for correlated branch diversity

Due to the interest in wireless personal communications, there has been a lot of research on the performance of receivers with diversity. Most analyses assume the diversity branches are independent. This paper presents an analysis of the bit-error probability for receivers in which the diversity branches are correlated. Noncoherent orthogonal digital modulation (NCODM) with Rician and Rayleigh slow, nonselective fading models are assumed. Through the use of the diagonalization of quadratic forms, most of the calculations of the bit-error probability can be reduced to a two-dimensional numerical integration. For some cases for dual diversity, a closed-form expression for the error probability is given. A number of diversity combining laws, including square law and maximum likelihood, are considered. We find that Rician fading can be worse than Rayleigh fading in correlated diversity environments, a situation quite different from the independent diversity case. Also, for the Rayleigh fading model with correlated branch diversity, we find that an equal-weight, square-law combiner usually has the same error performance as the more complex maximum-likelihood combiner. However, this is not the case for a Rician fading model with the same correlation environment. Simple diagonalization methods that compensate for the lossy effect of correlation are specified and found to be effective when the dominant noise and interference have almost the same correlation distribution as the fading signals