A new method of evaluating the matched-filter bound for uncoded and trellis-coded transmission over frequency-selective fading diversity channels

The matched filter bound (MFB), which gives a lower bound, on the bit error rate (BER) under idealized conditions, is a useful means of assessing and comparing the average BER for various receiver and code designs. A method for evaluating the MFB based on an eigenvalue approach is presented for uncoded and trellis-coded transmission over selective diversity channels with arbitrary fading multipath profiles. Some examples (TCM with order of diversity 3 and 5; two-ray Rayleigh, GSM, and flat Rician channels) demonstrate the usefulness of the MFB in quantifying the potential benefits of time and multipath diversity transmission.<
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