On the bit error probability of OFDM and FBMC-OQAM systems in Rayleigh and Rician multipath fading channels

Abstract

Filter bank multicarrier with offset quadrature amplitude modulation (FBMC-OQAM) is considered an alternative to conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to meet the various requirements proposed by future communication networks. Among the different perspectives on the merits of FBMC-OQAM and OFDM, a straightforward metric is the bit error probability (BEP). This paper presents a general analytical framework for BEP evaluation that is applicable to FBMC-OQAM and OFDM systems in both Rayleigh and Rician multipath fading channels. Explicit BEP expressions are derived for Gray-coded pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) and square quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals with arbitrary constellation sizes. The theoretical analysis results show excellent agreement with the numerical simulation results in different channel scenarios.