Performance Analysis of a Class of GSC Receivers Over Nonidentical Weibull Fading Channels

The performance of a class of generalized-selection
\ncombining (GSC) receivers operating over independent but nonidentically
\ndistributedWeibull fading channels is studied.We consider
\nthe case where the two branches with the largest instantaneous
\nsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR), from a total of L available,
\nGSC(2, L) are selected. By introducing a novel property for the
\nproduct of moments of ordered Weibull random variables, convenient
\nclosed form expressions for the moments of the GSC(2,L)
\noutputSNRare derived. Using these expressions, important performance
\ncriteria, such as average output SNR and amount of fading,
\nare obtained in closed form. Furthermore, employing the Pade ́approximants
\ntheory and themoment-generating function approach,
\noutage and bit-error rate performance are studied. An attempt is
\nalso made to identify the equivalency between the Weibull and
\nthe Rice fading channel, which is typically used to model the mobile
\nsatellite channel. We present various numerical performance
\nevaluation results for different modulation formats and channel
\nconditions. These results are complemented by equivalent computer
\nsimulated resultswhich validate the accuracy of the proposed
\nanalysis.