Multicarrier Modulation Techniques in Wireless Communication Systems

Multicarrier modulation techniques partition a wideband communication channel into numerous parallel subchannels, enabling high data rates and robust performance under multipath fading. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), the most widely adopted approach, mitigates inter-symbol interference through the insertion of a cyclic prefix and achieves high spectral efficiency, yet suffers from elevated out-of-band emissions and sensitivity to power amplifier non-linearities. To address these drawbacks, filter bank multicarrier methods such as FBMC employ prototype filters that localise signal energy in both time and frequency, reducing interference without requiring a cyclic prefix. Universal Filtered Multicarrier (UFMC) refines this concept by filtering subbands rather than individual subcarriers, balancing latency and spectral containment. Generalised Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM) further enhances flexibility via circular pulse shaping and configurable subcarrier allocation. Offset Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (OQAM) techniques introduce real-domain orthogonality to increase throughput. The integration of these waveforms with multiple-input multiple-output architectures and adaptive equalisation schemes underpins the evolving requirements of 5G, the Internet of Things and beyond.

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Multicarrier Modulation Techniques in Wireless Communication Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in multicarrier modulation techniques in wireless communication systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Subcarrier: One of multiple orthogonal frequency tones used to convey parallel data streams within a wideband channel.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM): A multicarrier scheme that divides the available spectrum into orthogonal subcarriers and uses a cyclic prefix to mitigate inter-symbol interference.

Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC): A technique that applies prototype filtering to each subcarrier or subband, improving spectral containment without the need for a cyclic prefix.

Universal Filtered Multicarrier (UFMC): A variant that filters groups of subcarriers rather than individual tones, reducing out-of-band emission while maintaining low latency.

Generalised Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM): A flexible waveform employing circular pulse shaping and configurable subcarrier mapping for dynamic spectrum access.

Offset Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (OQAM): A modulation format that staggers real and imaginary symbol streams in time to achieve real-domain orthogonality.

Spectral efficiency: The number of bits transmitted per second per hertz of bandwidth, indicating how effectively a waveform utilises the spectrum.

Bit-error ratio (BER): The proportion of erroneously received bits relative to the total transmitted bits, used to assess link reliability.

References

1. Study and Analysis of OFDM under Rayleigh fading Channel using Various Modulation Methods. Mesopotamian Journal of Computer Science (2023).
2. The 5G candidate waveform race: a comparison of complexity and performance. EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking (2017).
3. Theoretical analysis of BER performance of nonlinearly amplified FBMC/OQAM and OFDM signals. EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing (2014).
4. Design of Waveform Shaping Filter in the UFMC System. IEEE Access (2018).
5. A Survey on MIMO-OFDM Systems: Review of Recent Trends. Signals (2022).
6. Evaluation and Analysis of FBMC/OQAM Systems Based on Pulse Shaping Filters. IEEE Access (2020).