Integer Space–Time Block Codes With Large Trace Metrics

Integer space-time block codes (ICs) do not require the computation of irrational coefficients in the encoding operation, and have a low peak-to-average power ratio. This letter proposes novel 2 × 2 ICs, which are searched for based on the determinant and trace design criteria for various spectral efficiencies. The code error performance is compared with that of the Harshan IC, Golden code, and Alamouti code. It is found that the performance of one of the proposed ICs is very close to that of the Golden code for moderate to high signal-to-noise ratios.