Error prediction for adaptive modulation and coding in multiple-antenna OFDM systems

In this paper, the problem of Packet Error Rate prediction is addressed in the multipleantenna broadband OFDM context, and its impact on Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) is quantified. The analysis is based on a physical layer comprising various modulation and coding schemes, ranging from robust space-time block coding (STBC) modes to high bit rate spatial division multiplexing (SDM) modes, and also hybrid SDM-STBC schemes. For each mode the expression of several Link Quality Metrics enabling PER prediction in the broadband OFDM channel, such as instantaneous SNR, capacity, or exponential effective SNR metrics are provided. Their advantages and limitations are investigated. Finally, their performance is benchmarked in the IEEE 802.11a/g/n context. It is shown that the choice of the Link Quality Metric has a significant impact on the throughput performance of the AMC algorithm. ∗Motorola Labs, Parc Les Algorithmes, St-Aubin 91193 Gif-sur-Yvette, FRANCE. †Motorola Labs, MOTOROLA INC, 1301 E Algonquin Road, Schaumburg IL 60196-1078 USA