OFDM versus Single Carrier with Cyclic Prefix: a system-based comparison

In recent years, wireless indoor networks have received a lot of scientific and industrial attention. Most systems rely on the use of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) because of its capability to elegantly cope with multi-path interference. However, while OFDM provides a nice solution for the digital modem, its front-end requirements should be investigated as well. To that goal, we have set up a simulation environment which comprises both the digital modem and the most important front-end nonidealities. We show that for the same data rate, bandwidth and transmit power constraints Single-Carrier with Cyclic Prefix (SC-CP) allows the design of a more power efficient modem than OFDM and is therefore a better candidate for portable wireless terminals. Keywords—OFDM, Single-Carrier with Cyclic Prefix, multi-path, frontend, power efficiency.