Transmit antenna selection for coded multiple-input dual-output systems

Antenna selection (AS) in multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems has been introduced to benefit from MIMO gains with tolerable cost and complexity. In the literature, the AS has been addressed only for the case of uncoded MIMO systems. In this paper, we assess the benefits of transmit AS technique for coded multiple-input dual-output (MIDO) sys-tems. First, we design an SNR-dependent adaptive space time block code suited for capacity achieving coded MIDO systems with transmit antenna selection. In the context of a turbo-coded WiMAX system, the designed adaptive STBC matches or outperforms WiMAX MIMO profiles in terms of bit error performance. We show that using transmit antenna selection provides a substantial SNR gain of more than 3 dB with respect to a 2 × 2 turbo coded WiMAX system, and this, with a low cost and complexity increase.