Higher order space-time block codes for virtual antenna arrays

Virtual antenna arrays were recently introduced that allow the application of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) capacity enhancement techniques to mobile terminals with a limited number of antenna elements. This paper investigates the performance improvements of deployed higher order space-time block codes (STBCs) to such virtual antenna arrays. The main idea is to emulate (nT_x transmit antennas, m_Rx receive antennas) diversity scheme. This approach successfully deals with the problem of just one receiving antenna in a handset. Simulations results indicate a drastic improvement in error performance over (n_Tx,1) schemes.