Multicarrier Transmission Systems

In this thesis, we have analyzed the subcarrier fading characteristics of multicarrier modulation (MCM) schemes such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA), under generalized frequency-selective fading conditions. We have also developed several approaches to simplify the analytical expressions of bit error rate (BER) performance, as well as to enhance the performance of OFDM and MC-CDMA systems with various equalization and combining schemes. A wide variety of frequency-selective fading channels containing different combinations of independent/correlated Rayleigh and Rician fading paths are then studied. The achievements stated in this thesis have contributed towards better understanding, more efficient evaluations and enhancements of the performance of MCM systems operating in generalized frequency-selective fading channels.