Performance Analysis of OFDM Repeater Networks with Spatial Fading Correlation

This paper analyzes the performance of the OFDM diversity systems with the spatial fading correlation when the network includes an RF repeater. In case of OFDM transmission, since the combining scheme is usually employed in the frequency domain, the correlation between different subchannels should be considered. In a multipath channel, correlation varies over subchannels depending on the channel delay profile and the spatial correlation between each individual delayed paths. In this study, a multipath channel is constructed by the repeated signal instead of natural multipath due to cluttered environments and the system performance with spatial correlation per subcarrier is evaluated. Previously, it is reported that the effect of correlation can be reduced by the Time Shifted Sampling (TSS) technique which relies on the multipath diversity. Numerical results indicate that the TSS technique is also effective in reducing the effect of correlation for the multipath channels constructed by the repeaters.