End-to-end SER of MRT/MRC and SC in multi-hop wireless sensor networks

The purpose of this study is to express analytically the end-to-end (e2e) symbol error rate (SER) in multi-hop decode-and-forward relaying in wireless sensor networks. These may occur in independently distributed cascaded Nakagami-m fading channels that may or may not be identical. In this study, all sensor terminals show mobility and this study is possibly the first one that undertakes performance analysis of maximal ratio transmission/maximum ratio combining and selection combining diversity that enables a better system performance in a multi-hop wireless sensor transmission system. In this paper, the first step undertaken was to generate a closed-form expression of the probability distribution function (PDF), the cumulative distribution function, and the moment-generating function for the system being examined. This discovery helped in the evaluation of the eventual performance of the system as far as e2e SER is concerned. It also helped in determining the upper limits of SER expressions for high signal-to-noise ratios. In the next phase, the intended system was utilized in an accurate approximation of the PDF of the cascaded Rayleigh fading channels to compare the findings acquired thus with those derived by its use in the actual PDF of the cascaded Rayleigh fading channels. These analytical findings were then validated with the help of Monte-Carlo simulations.