Performance analysis of a decode-and-forward cooperative relaying scheme for MIMO systems

A decode-and-forward cooperative relaying scheme where an N_T-antenna source is assisted by several N_D-antenna relays to forward its information to a N_D-antenna destination is considered. Its symbol error rate (SER) and average transmit power per transmit antenna (ATPT) are derived and validated by computer simulations. Illustrative results over different network topologies show that the considered cooperative relaying scheme offers a significant performance improvement as compared to direct transmission and cooperative relaying without direct link under the same transmission power and bandwidth efficiency.