SC-FDE with Code Index Modulation for UAV Payload Communication

In this paper, a new single carrier frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) communication scheme with code index modulation (CIM), called CIM-SC-FDE, is proposed for UAV payload communication link with high spectral and energy efficiency requirements. In this scheme, part of the information bits is used to determine the index of the spread spectrum code, which can convey additional bits. The transceiver structure of the proposed scheme is constructed, and its bit error rate (BER) is derived. Numerical results show the superiority of the CIM-SC-FDE scheme at various values of spectral efficiency (SE). And, the approximate theoretical BER curve agrees with their simulation counterparts well.