Generalization of Index-Modulation: Breaking the Conventional Limits on Spectral and Energy Efficiencies

In the context of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing with index modulation (OFDM-IM), this paper first presents an improved index modulation (IIM) technique to address the well-known low spectral efficiency problem of IM techniques in general and OFDM-IM in particular. OFDM-IIM is realized by deriving the minimum required number of subcarriers per group, and the minimum number of active subcarriers in each group, of the conventional OFDM-IM technique. It is proven that OFDM-IIM can deliver higher spectral and energy efficiencies than classical OFDM and OFDM-IM. The gains come at the expense of increased detection complexity. Therefore, a proposal of OFDM with generalized IM (OFDM-GIM) technique is presented, where a variable number of subcarriers per group are allowed to be activated. Two variants of OFDM-GIM are designed based on the activation pattern of the subcarriers: the first achieves superior spectral efficiency with reduced detection complexity as compared to OFDM-IIM, and the second is tailored for low data rate communications with higher energy efficiency requirements. Besides optimal maximum likelihood detection, a less-complex sub-optimal detector is proposed. A closed-form expression for the bit error rate (BER) of OFDM-IIM and the two variants of OFDM-GIM is derived, considering transmissions over Nakagami fading channels and multiple-antenna reception. Finally, OFDM-IIM and OFDM-GIM are compared with state-of-the-art techniques to validate their superiority in terms of BER, achievable rate, and energy efficiency.

Automated summary

This paper introduces an improved OFDM index modulation technique to address low spectral efficiency, and proposes a scheme with generalized index modulation, comparing different techniques in terms of spectral efficiency, detection complexity, and energy efficiency.