Single-Carrier Frequency-Domain Equalization for Orthogonal STBC over Frequency-Selective MIMO-PLC Channels

In this paper we propose a new space diversity scheme for broadband PLC systems using orthogonal space-time block coding (OSTBC) transmission combined with single-carrier frequency-domain equalization (SC-FDE). To apply this diversity technique to PLC channels, we first propose a new technique for combining SC-FDE with OSTBCs applicable to all dispersive multipath channels impaired by impulsive noise. The proposed technique is then applied to indoor and outdoor PLC channels under different channel scenarios in the presence of background and impulsive noises. We perform the simulations for SISO, MISO and MIMO configurations and show that a significant SNR gain is achieved when SC-FDE is combined with diversity techniques. We also compare our proposed technique with OFDM using Alamouti code for broadband PLC and show the superiority of our technique.