Coded OFDM in PLC Channels with SaS distribution Impulsive Noise using MRC detector

In this paper, we consider Power Line Communication (PLC) for Smart Grid (SG) in the presence of impulse noise modelled using the symmetric a-stable (SaS) distribution. The proposed system utilizes coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with real-valued output signal implemented using Hermitian symmetry of the modulated symbols in the frequency domain. Furthermore, the Low-density Parity Check (LDPC) and Polar codes are employed to attain frequency diversity. The paper provides a comparison of the Bit Error-Rate (BER) performance of these codes in the PLC channel. Finally, we introduce a novel Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) technique that exploits the Hermitian symmetry inherent in the real-valued OFDM symbol and compare its performance to the Zero Forcing (ZF) equalizer that are used to remove the effect of the channel fading. The presented simulation results included in the investigation demonstrate that in the PLC channel, the performance of the proposed MRC approach using LDPC codes outperforms the Polar codes consistently for Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (M-QAM) of orders $M$ = 16.