An Overview of Peak-to-Average Power Ratio Reduction Techniques for OFDM Signals

Abstract

OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) has been widely adopted for high data rate wireless communication systems due to its advantages such as extraordinary spectral efficiency, robustness to channel fading and better QoS (Quality of Service) performance for multiple users. However, some challenging issues are still unresolved in OFDM systems. One of the issues is the high PAPR (peak-to-average power ratio), which results in nonlinearity in power amplifiers, and causes out of band radiation and in band distortion. This paper reviews some conventional PAPR reduction techniques and their modifications to achieve better PAPR performance. Advantages and disadvantages of each technique are discussed in detail. And comparisons between different techniques are also presented. Finally, this paper makes a prospect forecast about the direction for further researches in the area of PAPR reduction for OFDM signals.