Optimum multiuser noncoherent DPSK detection in generalized diversity Rayleigh-fading channels

The jointly optimum multiuser noncoherent detector for DPSK modulation over the generalized diversity Rayleigh fading (GDRF) channel is derived and analyzed. The GDRF channel includes time/frequency/receiver antenna diversity and allows fading correlations between the various diversity branches of each user. Noncoherent detection here refers to the case where the receiver has neither knowledge of the instantaneous phases nor of the envelopes of the users’ channels. Upper and lower bounds on the bit error probability of the optimum detector are derived for a given user. For fast fading, when the fading coefficients vary from one symbol interval to the next (but are still essentially constant over one symbol interval), the detector asymptotically (for high signal-to-noise ratios) reaches an error floor, which is bounded from below and above for different fast fading scenarios. For slow fading, when the channel is constant for at least two consecutive symbol intervals, the upper bound is shown to converge asymptotically to the lower bound. Thus the asymptotic efficiency of optimum multiuser DPSK detection can be determined and is found to be positive. In contrast to coherent detection however, it is smaller than unity in general. Since the asymptotic efficiency is independent of the interfering users’ signal strengths, the optimum detector is near-far-resistant. While optimum multiuser detection is exponentially complex in the number of users, its performance provides the benchmark for sub-optimal detectors. In particular, it is seen that the previously suggested post-decorrelative detectors can be far from satisfactory.