Performance Comparison of IM-Based OFDM and OFDM with Multiple Constellations

Abstract

This paper compares performance of index modulation (IM) based OFDM to a more flexible version of OFDM, known as OFDM with multiple constellations (OFDM-MConst). To deliver the same spectral efficiency as in the IM-based OFDM, the OFDM-MConst employs different constellations in different subcarriers. The performance comparison between IM-based OFDM and OFDM-MConst is done for both cases of “no precoding” and “with precoding” of data symbols. Thanks to the multipath diversity gain achieved with precoding and enjoyed by all the information bits, the precoded-OFDM-MConst is shown to significantly outperform precoded-IM-based-OFDM systems over frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channels.