Multi-hop space shift keying with partial relay selection

In this paper, two different partial relay selection techniques are proposed for multi-hop multi-branch space shift keying (SSK). In this scheme, each relay in each branch follows the decode-and-forward principle. Moreover, source and all relays employ SSK modulation to transmit information bits using their transmit antennas. Closed-form approximate and asymptotic symbol error probability expressions for the proposed SSK system are derived and the analytical results are verified through computer simulations. It is shown that the proposed multi-hop SSK system outperforms the conventional multihop SSK system, the multi-hop SSK system with path selection and conventional multi-hop M-PSK system with path selection in terms of error performance for especially high data rates and sufficient number of receive antennas.