The Impact of Spatial Fading Correlation on SER Performance of Circular Array Versus Linear Arrary

In this letter, we investigate the impact of fading correlation on symbol error rate (SER) performance of M-ray phase shift keying (MPSK) with maximal ratio combining (MRC) and present a comparison between the SER performance of a uniform circular array (UCA) and a uniform linear array (ULA). The performance evaluation uses the known expression for the SER of MPSK, then averages it over the density function for the combined symbol signal to noise ratio (SNR). The channel capacity of UCA with uniform angle distribution is also analyzed. The results are based on analysis, assuming a flat Rayleigh fading channel with omni-directional antennas and considering the azimuthal plane only. The analytical SER is derived as a function of the spatial fading correlation for both types of antenna arrays. Results show that UCA outperforms the ULA on average for low-to-moderate angle spread A. Computer simulations are carried out to verify the analytical results