Performance of dual-branch diversity receiver based SR-ARQ in Rayleigh fading channel

Automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes are quite effective for improving the throughput of system diversity in time-varying channel environments. In this paper, a dual-branch selection diversity receiver based selective repeat-ARQ scheme is investigated to evaluate the optimal throughput performance in terms of the average bit error rate in Rayleigh fading channels. Both uncorrelated and correlated antenna branches are considered. The numerical results shows the effect of optimal switching threshold on the throughput performance in case of switched diversity as well as the mobility effect of the selection combining diversity receiver when correlated antenna branches are present. A significant improvement in the system throughput of selection diversity outperforms that of switched diversity.