A single-symbol-decodable space-time block code with full rate and low peak-to-average power ratio

Three desirable properties of a four-antenna spacetime block code are full rate, full diversity, and single-symbol decodability. Previously reported space-time codes that achieve all three properties do so at the expense of the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). A fourth desirable property of a space-time block code is that its PAPR be the same as that of the underlying quadrature-amplitude modulation alphabet. In this letter we introduce space-time codes for three and four transmit antennas that achieve all four properties; these codes use a diversity technique based on constellation stretching. Numerical results for quasistatic Rayleigh-fading channels show that, despite their low PAPR, the proposed codes are comparable in SNR performance to the best-performing single-symbol decodable space-time codes for three and four transmit antennas.