Exploiting the Direct Link in Full-Duplex Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Networks

This letter investigates the outage probability of a variable-gain amplify-and-forward full-duplex relaying network in which not only the relaying link but also the direct link is used to convey information, thus improving the system reliability. We consider a basic three-node relaying system composed of a source, a destination, and a two-antenna relay—one antenna for transmission, one antenna for reception. Also, we consider that the full-duplex relay undergoes some residual self interference, modeled as a fading channel, and that maximal-ratio combining is employed at the destination to merge the signals from the source and relay. We derive an exact integral-form expression for the outage probability and validate this via Monte Carlo simulation. In addition, we propose a highly-accurate closed-form approximation to the outage probability, as well as a simple asymptotic expression at high signal-to-noise ratio. The use of the direct link is shown to overcome the zero diversity order inherent to full-duplex relaying.