Multi‐carrier platform for wireless communications. Part 2: OFDM and MC‐CDMA systems with high‐performance, high‐throughput via innovations in spreading

Abstract Multi‐carrier technologies in general, and OFDM and MC‐CDMA in particular, are an integral part of the wireless landscape. In this second part of a two‐part survey, the authors present an innovative set of spreading codes known as CI codes, and demonstrate how these significantly increase performance and capacity in OFDM and MC‐CDMA systems, all the while eliminating PAPR concerns. Regarding OFDM: the spreading of each symbol over all N carriers using CI spreading codes (replacing the current one symbol per carrier strategy) are presented. CI codes are ideally suited for spreading OFDM since, when compared to traditional OFDM, CI‐based OFDM systems achieve the performance of coded OFDM (COFDM) while maintaining the throughput of uncoded OFDM, and, at the same time, eliminate PAPR concerns. When applied to MC‐CDMA, CI codes provide a simple means of supporting 2N users on N carriers while maintaining the performance of an N‐user Hadamard Walsh code MC‐CDMA system, i.e., CI codes double MC‐CDMA network capacity without loss in performance. The CI codes used in OFDM and MC‐CDMA systems are directly related to the CI pulse (chip) shapes used to enhance TDMA and DS‐CDMA (see part 1): hence, the CI approach provides a common hardware platform for today's multi‐carrier/multiple‐access technologies, enabling software radio applications. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.