Performance analysis of coherently detected signals transmitted over slow, flat, Ricean fading channels

Error probability analysis for communications systems often yields mathematics which defy analytical solution. In these situations, it is desirable, both for added insight and reduced computational burden, to carry the solution analytically as far as practical before resorting to numerical analysis. In this paper, the probabilities of bit error for coherently detected digital modulation techniques are analyzed. Approximate analytic solutions are developed for the probability of bit error when the signal is affected by the most commonly encountered impairment to system performance for a wireless channel, the transmission of the signal over a fading channel. In this paper, the effect of a slow, flat Ricean fading channel on coherent communications systems performance is examined.