Superposition-Repetition-Coded Successive Decode-And-Forward Relaying with Limited Destination-Relay Feedback

A novel cooperative diversity transmission protocol using two K-antenna decode-and-forward relays to take turns assisting in the communication between a single-antenna source and its intended N-antenna destination is studied. A (1+2⌈logK⌉)-bit destination-relay feedback signal is exploited to perform relay/antenna selection. Two different simple forwarding strategies are applied at the relays: one relay uses a superposition-coding strategy while the other relay uses a repetition-coding strategy. When the source's frame length is sufficiently large, the optimal diversity- multiplexing tradeoff of the four-node network can be achieved asymptotically if K ≥ 3.