Bit-error rates of MIMO-SESS over Rayleigh fading channels

In recent work we have incorporated self-encoded spread spectrum (SESS) in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems as a novel means to combat fading in wireless channels. In this paper, we report analytical study of the bit error rate (BER) performance of MIMO-SESS systems under Rayleigh fading. The BER expressions are derived in closed-form and the veracity of the analysis was confirmed with numerical calculations that demonstrated excellent agreement with simulation results. The performance analysis demonstrates that the effects of fading can be effectively mitigated by taking advantage of spatial and temporal diversities. For example at 10^-4 BER, a 2 × 2 MIMO-SESS system requires a signal-to-noise ratio of only 3 dB under Rayleigh fading and achieves about 7 dB performance improvement over a MIMO PN-coded spread spectrum system.