Crossing rates and fade durations of multibranch diversity over correlated Rayleigh channels

Unified expressions for the level crossing rate and average fade duration of multibranch selection, equal-gain, and maximal-ratio combiners operating over unbalanced correlated Rayleigh channels are derived in a finite-range multifold integral form. The new expressions are general and can be applied to any type of diversity, avoiding restrictive assumptions from previous related works. As an application example, we analyze a space-diversity system using a three-branch horizontal linear antenna array at the mobile station.