Comprehensive Error Analysis of Multi-Antenna Decode-and-Forward Relay in Fading Channels

A comprehensive analytical framework of dual-hop fixed decode-and-forward cooperative networks with multi-antenna relay and distributed spatial diversity is developed over generalized Nakagami-m fading channels. The effect of Rician fading for the relay-destination link has been of special interest. The multi-antenna relay employs selection combining (SC) and the destination adopts distributed SC. Analytical expressions for the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are derived and used to evaluate the bit error probability (BEP) for coherent and non-coherent binary modulation schemes in a unified manner. Numerical and simulation results are presented to illustrate the impact of the Rician K-factor and Nakagami-m parameter on the end-to-end performance.