Optimum receiver for space-time trellis code in multipath fading channel

Space-time coding (STC) is a promising technique to improve the capacity of the wireless communications channel. When STC is used in an unequalized multipath fading channel, it presents an irreducible error floor due to the intersymbol interference (ISI). Optimum receivers for STC in multipath fading channels are proposed in this paper. The decoding complexity of this optimum receiver is analyzed. The upper bound of the pairwise error probability is derived and simulation results are presented. Compare to the STC system in a flat fading channel, the STC system equipped with an optimum receiver can achieve additional coding diversity in a multipath fading channel.