BER Analysis of the Alamouti Coding Scheme Using Receive Antenna Selection

In this paper, we present a comprehensive performance analysis of the 2 × 2 wireless MIMO Alamouti coding scheme using receive antenna selection. Complete knowledge at the receiver of the Channel State Information (CSI), i.e., perfect knowledge of both the symbol synchronisation and the channel gains, and a MIMO model of uncorrelated Rayleigh fading subchannels are assumed. A receive selection algorithm based on the maximizing Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) is used to select two antennas. Under these conditions, we derive the exact average Bit Error Rate (BER) for Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation using the Moment Generating Function (MGF) and the order statistics associated with the instantaneous SNR at the two selected antennas.