Field Trials of SC-FDMA, FBMC and LP-FBMC in Indoor Sub-3.5 GHz Bands

Abstract

LP-FBMC (low peak-to-average power ratio filter bank multicarrier) was recently proposed to ameliorate the high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) issue of filter bank multicarrier (FBMC). The previous simulation study showed that LP-FBMC achieves a similar PAPR as that of single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) while being very robust to inter-user timing/frequency offsets. However, the simulation results that were obtained assuming the stereotyped channel model and the simple nonlinearity model of analog circuits substantially differ from the performance results in a real channel with a real transceiver. To address this, the main purpose of this work is to compare the performances of three waveforms, i.e., SC-FDMA, FBMC, and LP-FBMC, in a real uplink indoor channel. We investigate how the bit error rate (BER) performance gaps of three waveforms in the indoor channels change by the system parameters, such as the carrier frequency within sub-3.5 GHz band and the number of sub-carriers or the sub-carrier spacing, which was not found in the previous simulation study. Our investigation confirms that LP-FBMC is a suitable waveform for real indoor applications.

Waveform Design for 5G and beyond Systems

“…It is important to note that the research on waveform design needs to come with an exact performance assessment and well-balanced comparison with their competitors. In light of this objective, the first pair of articles, [1,2], provide intensive comparisons among the various waveforms used for 5G systems and beyond, and the employed pulse shapes, respectively. In the first article "Field Trials of SC-FDMA, FBMC, and LP-FBMC in Indoor Sub-3.5 GHz Bands" [1], a common issue in conventional methodologies for the comparison among the promising waveforms for the 5G system and beyond was addressed.…”

“…In light of this objective, the first pair of articles, [1,2], provide intensive comparisons among the various waveforms used for 5G systems and beyond, and the employed pulse shapes, respectively. In the first article "Field Trials of SC-FDMA, FBMC, and LP-FBMC in Indoor Sub-3.5 GHz Bands" [1], a common issue in conventional methodologies for the comparison among the promising waveforms for the 5G system and beyond was addressed. These conventional comparisons all have the same critical limitations that the results were based on-a stereotyped channel model and the simple nonlinearity model of analog circuits.…”

A Multi-level Compression Scheme for Peak to Average Power Ratio Mitigation in SC-FDMA Communication System

“…Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system has been adopted in uplink 4 th and 5 th Generation wireless networks [1][2][3]. SC-FDMA offers several advantages, including minimal implementation complexity, and simplicity [3]. Another important merit for SC-FDMA is PAPR mitigation over orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM).…”