Performance of Distributed Diversity Systems With a Single Amplify-and-Forward Relay

We study the error performance of the binary phase-shift keying (BPSK)-modulated distributed selection combining (SC) and distributed switched-and-stay combining (DSSC) schemes that utilize a single fixed-gain amplify-and-forward (AF) relay under Rayleigh fading conditions. The error performance of the distributed maximal ratio combining (MRC) is also investigated, which serves here as a benchmark. The numerical examples confirm that SC and DSSC offer a simpler substitute for MRC without much loss in performance. Moreover, we interestingly note that the performance of DSSC with a single fixed-gain AF relay is similar to that of DSSC with a single decode-and-forward relay, despite its relative simplicity.