PERFORMANCE AND OPTIMIZATION OF SWITCHED DIVERSITY SYSTEMS FOR THE DETECTION OF SIGNALS WITH RAYLEIGH FADING

The performance and optimization of switched diversity systems are considered. First, the one-dimensional distribution and probability density functions of the envelope of the received signal are obtained for three different switching strategies. This information is used to obtain the average probability of bit error for the case of noncoherent detection of binary FSK signals with Rayleigh fading envelopes and additive white Gaussian noise. The optimization of two of these switching strategies is then considered, and it is shown that by proper selection of switching thresholds, the average probability of bit error during detection can be minimized. It is also shown that these optimized switching strategies yield a significant improvement in performance over nondiversity systems and can approach the performance of more complex receivers such as maximal ratio combining. Computer simulations of switched diversity sytems using a practical field model are used to verify the analysis. Copyright © 1979 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.