Derandomized Multi-block Sign Selection for PMEPR Reduction of FBMC Waveform

The high PAPR problem has been a major concern in waveform design and imposes substantial limitations. On the other hand, the area of research on enabling technologies, specifically waveform design, is very active due to the demands of the next generations of wireless systems. A promising method to reduce the Peak-to-Mean Envelope Power Ratio (PMEPR) of the OFDM signal is to choose the best sign changes for the underlying data symbols through a deterministic or derandomized algorithm. In particular, high performance and mathematical tractability of the method motivates further research on its usefulness. This paper investigates the performance of this method for FBMC waveform, as one of the candidate waveforms which has attracted considerable attention. It will be shown that despite the complex structure of the FBMC signal, the method is completely applicable. The performance is impressive, about 4.6 dB for 1024 subcarriers. In addition, some interesting properties of the algorithm are noticed.