Realizing cooperative beamforming scenario with MIMO-OFDM DF relay channels and performance comparison based on modulation scheme and energy efficiency

Cooperative communication has attracted foremost research concern due to its ability to expand system coverage and enhance spectrum efficiency. In this paper, a transmit cooperative beamforming scenario with multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) decode-and-forward (DF) relay channel with a direct source to destination link is considered, into which an orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) technique is incorporated by including an OFDM modulator/demodulator in the transceiver. Results show the performance comparison based on achievable information rate for the transmit signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for different modulation scheme and it is seen that with OFDM the overall performance of the system is enhanced further. Results also show the comparison of energy efficiency of the transmitter in MIMO-OFDM DF relay and MIMO DF relay channel.