Multilayer Coding Over Multihop Single-User Networks

This paper considers a two-hop network in which information is transmitted from a source via a relay to a destination. It is assumed that channels are quasi-static fading with additive white Gaussian noise and that all nodes are equipped with a single antenna. The channel state information (CSI) of each hop is available only at the corresponding receiver and relay is not capable of data buffering over multiple coding blocks. One commonly used design criterion in such configurations is the maximization of the average received rate at the destination. Considering infinite-layer coding at both the source and the relay, in conjunction with decode and forward strategy at the relay, we present a procedure to optimally distribute the available source and relay powers to different layers of their corresponding codes. Next, we demonstrate how this transmission technique can be generalized to a multihop setting. Assuming Rayleigh fading, the performance of the proposed coding scheme is evaluated for a two-hop network and compared with the performance of previously known strategies.