Efficient multicarrier realization of full-rate space-time orthogonal block coded systems

Space-time block codes based on orthogonal designs, known as space-time orthogonal block (STOB) codes, have recently been proposed. It has been noted that when the number of transmit antennas is more than two, full-rate STOB codes could only be designed for real-valued data symbols. Real-valued symbols form pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) sequences whose bandwidth efficient transmission is only possible through single side-band (SSB) modulation. We propose cosine modulated filter bank (CMFB) multicarrier modulation (MCM) as a bandwidth efficient method of implementing full-rate STOB-coded systems. The impact of channel distortion on the received signal is studied, and a method of designing a zero-forcing equalizer that removes intersymbol interference (ISI) and interchannel interference (ICI) in the system is developed. Some relevant properties of the proposed system are also reported.