A Chunk Based OFDM Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Scheme for 4G Mobile Radio Systems

Amplify-and-Forward (AF) is a simple but effective relaying concept for multihop networks that combines transparency regarding modulation format and coding scheme with ease of implementation. Conventional AF, however, does not take into account the transfer function of the first and the second hop channels. For OFDM based systems, this appears to be sub-optimum. In this paper an AF relaying scheme is proposed that adapts to the transfer functions of both channels. The relay estimates the transfer functions and rearranges the subcarriers in each OFDM packet such that an optimum coupling between subcarriers of the first and the second hop channels occurs. Additionally, a signaling scheme is developed that allows for an efficient transfer of the necessary information. Simulations show that the proposed relaying scheme achieves significant SNR gains over conventional OFDM relaying.