Unified design of linear space-time block codes

A number of space-time codes have recently been proposed for the quasi-static, flat-fading, multiple-antenna wireless channel with coherent receiver. We focus on space-time codes that are linear in the scalar input symbols. We provide design criteria that take into account both the error probability and the channel capacity. We consider the error probability via the union bound instead of the conventional pairwise error probability and provide conditions on unitary codes to minimize the union bound. Then, we provide conditions on linear codes to maximize channel capacity, i.e. capacity-efficient codes. Finally we provide design rules that optimize the error performance of capacity-efficient codes, and demonstrate performance improvements via simulations