Orthogonal space-time block code from amicable complex orthogonal design

Amicable complex orthogonal design (ACOD), which is the complex version of amicable orthogonal design first reported in Wolfe (1976) is proposed and its existence is proven. Using ACOD, new orthogonal space-time block codes (O-STBC) for four and eight transmit antennas are constructed. Their maximum achievable code rates are proven to be as high as the existing O-STBC designs. In addition, the new O-STBC are shown to have better practical implementation features than the existing O-STBC, as they do not require any transmit antenna to be turned off intermittently (which is beneficial for the power amplifier design), and they do not have irrational-number coefficients inside the codeword (which simplifies the hardware implementation).