BER performance of OFDM combined with TDM using frequency-domain equalization

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) combined with time division multiplexing (TDM), in this paper called OFDM/TDM, can overcome the high peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) problem of the conventional OFDM and improve the robustness against long time delays. In this paper, the bit error rate (BER) performance of OFDM/TDM in a frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channel is evaluated by computer simulation. It is shown that the use of frequency-domain equalization based on minimum mean square error criterion (MMSE-FDE) can significantly improve the BER performance, compared to the conventional OFDM, by exploiting the channel frequency-selectivity while reducing the PAPR or improving the robustness against long time delays. It is also shown that the performance of OFDM/TDM de- signed to reduce the PAPR can bridge the conventional OFDM and single-carrier (SC) transmission by changing the design parameter.