Forward link capacity evaluation for W-CDMA with amplitude limiter and forward error correction

In this paper, the influence of the amplitude limiter of combined multiuser signals in the base station of the wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system is described. The transmission performance under Rayleigh fading and interference from an adjacent 6-cell environment are evaluated by computer simulation; the tool of its simulation is MATLAB software. The relationship between limiter level and capacity degradation is clarified. Furthermore, it is shown that the introduction of the limiter is effective in reducing the dynamic range of the power amplifier. The effect of forward error correction (FEC) is also described. The results show that it is effective to use FEC in compensating the degradation by the amplitude limiter.