Simulation and modeling of amplifier nonlinearities for multicarrier wireless communication systems

Amplifier nonlinearities impact the performance of multicarrier frequency division multiple access (FDMA) wireless communication systems. It is important to accurately model limiters and high power amplifiers to predict the bit error rate performance of multicarrier communication systems. Modern simulation tools can be used to accurately determine intermodulation distortion and its effect on the bit error rate in a computationally timely manner. This paper presents simulation results in a parameterized form when the input to the amplifier is comprised of a number of 8-PSK modulated signals with raised cosine filter shaping. One of the important parameter in these simulated results is the amplifier power back off level, which is varied over a range of about 6 dB. The simulation results include the probability of bit error and the intermodulation distortion both within the signal band and outside the signal band. Bit error rate curves, eye diagrams and constellation figures are used in presenting the results.