SIR-based RAKE receiver finger assignment algorithm

In this paper, a new scheme for assigning RAKE fingers in CDMA systems is proposed. The proposed finger assignment strategy uses the per-path signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) rather than the average signal strength commonly used in conventional systems. Significant improvement in performance is achieved in terms of the bit-error probability and probability of multipath detection. Analytical and simulations results are presented to show such gains. We also present a novel algorithm for estimating the SIR per path.