Joint Multi-Branch Weighted Combining and Equalization Detector for Cooperative Communication

In cooperative communication, due to the difference of channel qualities between nodes, the effective combining and processing for the signals from multiple nodes is extremely important to improve the system performance. In this paper, we propose an approach named joint multi-branch weighted combining and equalization detector (JMWC-ED) where all inter-node links are independent frequency selective fading channels, and present the corresponding performance analysis. Compared with the existing approaches, in the JMWC-ED, the adjustment of weighted combining for all branches and the equalization of each branch are synthesized into an integrated detector. The weighted combining of multiple branches and the adjustment of the tap coefficient vector of each branch are not independent of each other, but are implemented jointly. Moreover, the weighted coefficients of all branches are adaptively adjusted in accordance with the corresponding channel qualities, and there is no need to know the channel state informations between nodes. Simulation results validate the adjustment ability of the JMWC-ED to weighted coefficients and the performance analysis for the JMWC-ED. We also show the superior performance of the JMWC-ED over existent counterparts.