Performance evaluation and analysis of space-time coding in unequalized multipath fading links

This paper investigates the use of space-time (ST) coding for high-speed data transmission, as well as studies the effect of time delay spread on such scheme over unequalized fading channels. Using a random variable decomposition technique, we present an analytical model and obtain an approximate bound of the pairwise-error probability for ST coded systems over multipath and time-dispersive fading channels. It is shown that the presence of multipath does not reduce the diversity gain provided by the original design criteria, which is adopted to construct specific ST codes in quasi-static flat fading, but the coding gain diminishes due to the effect of multipath fading.