Subcarrier selection and power allocation for amplify-and-forward relaying over OFDM links

We study the end-to-end capacity of a cooperative relaying scheme using OFDM modulation, under power constraints for both the base station and the relay station. The relay uses an amplify-and-forward cooperative relaying technique to retransmit messages on a subset of the available subcarriers. The power used in the base station and the relay station transmitters is allocated in such a manner that the overall system capacity is maximized. The subcarrier selection and power allocation are obtained based on convex optimization formulations and an iterative algorithm. The proposed technique outperforms nonselective relaying schemes over a range of relay power budgets.