Extensive performance analysis of STBC system with and without perfect CSI in various fading channels

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a 2×1 Alamouti Space Time Block Code system in multipath fading environments in terms of Bit Error Rate (BER). The system is evaluated for varying modulation schemes at the transmitter namely BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK and 16QAM. Besides, the system performance in case of perfect channel side information (CSI) and estimated channel information is also compared. Pilot symbols orthogonal to each other are used for channel estimation using Least Square method while linear and cubic spline interpolation techniques are applied to evaluate channel for non-pilot data symbols. Rayleigh and Rician (K-factor = 10 dB) fading conditions are used as the wireless channel models.