Performance Analysis of Multiple-Relay Decode-and-Forward Cooperation System

In this paper, we analyze the impact of the detection error at the relay node to the performance of the decode- and-forward cooperation system. We apply a simple detector, where no channel state information between the source node and the relay node is available at the destination, and maximum ratio combining is performed without considering whether the forwarded symbol from the relay is incorrect. With such an assumption, we analyze the error performance of the system with multiple relay nodes, and demonstrate the resulting error floor in this system. To compensate for the detection error at the relay node, we propose a relay selection protocol, which can lower the error floor and nearly achieve full diversity order.