Adding errors to reduce the PAPR and BER of OFDM-based transmissions

Abstract

When transmitting signals, one of the most important issues is to keep the transmission errors as low as possible. Or in other words, to obtain a reliable transmission link, the bit-error-rate (BER) should be kept within certain limits. However, the probability of transmission errors strongly depends on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the transmitted signals. Hence, the power amplifier plays a key role in the sender part: the more power, the higher the SNR, the lower the probability of transmission errors. Unfortunately, this is a too simple vision. One should take care to keep the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the transmitted signal low in order not to push the power amplifier into its nonlinear operation region. Classical techniques use clipping or backing-off the input signal to reduce the PAPR of the transmitted signal. However, these techniques have a negative influence on the SNR and hence on the BER. In this paper, we present a technique to reduce the PAPR of the transmitted signals and hence to reduce the BER, by introducing errors into Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals in a controlled way. Channel coding will be used to compensate for the introduced errors.