Layered space-frequency bit-interleaved coded modulation for MIMO systems

We consider a layered space-frequency (LSF) extension to bit-interleaved coded modulation (BICM) for MIMO-OFDM systems. We derive tight analytical bounds for the coded BER when using zero-forcing (ZF) detectors. The analysis does not rely on standard BICM expurgation techniques, and provides exact expressions for the codeword pairwise error probability at high SNR. We show that the LSF extension achieves the same diversity order as non-layered systems, while also achieving significant cant SNR gains when the number of transmit antennas is large. We quantify the SNR gain and show that it is a function of the antenna configuration only, and is independent of the modulation and coding parameters. We also present simulation results for MIMO extensions to IEEE 802.11a OFDM WLANs