Spatial multiplexing performance over generalized η-μ fading channels

Spatial multiplexing (SMX) utilized multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems to transmit parallel data streams and are promising candidates for very high data rate future wireless systems. In SMX, parallel streams equal the number of available transmit antennas are established between the transmitter and the receiver. In existing literature, few studies of SMX performance over fading channels are available. Most of existing analysis assume simplified channel models and sub-optimum receiver architecture. This paper studies the performance of SMX MIMO system over generalized η-μ fading channel. The channel is assumed to be perfectly known at the receiver and maximum-likelihood detection is applied to retrieve transmitted data. The joint envelope-phase distribution of the η-μ channel is considered in the study. A closed-form expression is obtained for the pair wise error probability and exploited to derive an upper-bound on the average bit error ratio of the system under study. Detailed performance analysis with different channel parameters and system configurations are presented. Monte Carlo simulations results corroborate the exactness of numerical results, where a close-match is demonstrated for wide and pragmatic range of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values.