Optimal array combiner for sequence detectors

The use of spatial diversity at the receiver front-end together with a sequence detector implies a joint design problem of the spatial combiner and the sequence detector impulse response. This joint design is usually faced under the constraint that the impulse response of the sequence detector is matched to the channel plus combiner response. This procedure maximizes the signal to noise ratio at the input of the detector but does not guarantee that the so-called effective signal to noise ratio is maximized. This work presents a procedure that, starting from the matched criteria, faces directly the maximization of the effective signal to noise ratio, yet preserving all the features of the spatial processor in terms of co-channel and high order intersymbol interference rejection.