Maximal ratio combining performance analysis in practical Rayleigh fading channels

The authors present a novel theoretical method to analyse the maximal ratio combining (MRC) receivers using BPSK and M-PSK modulation in spatially correlated Rayleigh fading channels, with perfect and imperfect channel knowledge, in terms of antenna array configuration and parameters of scatterer distributions. In this analysis closed form expressions for error probabilities of these modulations with MRC are derived, allowing for non-distinct eigenvalues from the channel gain correlation matrix. The results of performance analysis assuming different receiver configurations and scattering scenarios presented give valuable insight into the performance of MRC in practical Rayleigh fading scenarios for isotropic and non-isotropic scatterer distributions.