Split-phase coded modulation for a MIMO system over fading channels

This paper investigates a simple coded modulation technique for coherent phase shift keying (PSK) symbols. The constellation of coded PSK symbols is designed for the transmission of a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) system in Nakagami-m fading channels. The coded modulation does not alter the information rate of the input symbol streams. The resultant signaling mechanism possesses intrinsic spatial diversity within each transmitted constellation. Multiple receive antennas are deployed to perform maximum-ratio-combining for further spatial diversity benefits. Based on the code merit figure, which is defined as the dominant term of the approximated cutoff rate at high signal-to-noise ratio, good codes have been found. The system performances are evaluated by the presented union bound of the symbol error probability. It is analytically shown that distinguished diversity gains can be achieved by using the found codes over Nakagami-m fading channels