Exploitation of Quasi-Orthogonal Space Time Block Codes in Virtual Antenna Arrays: Part I - Theoretical Capacity and throughput Gains

A full-rate and full-diversity closed-loop quasi-orthogonal space time block coding scheme pioneered by Toker, Lambotharan and Chambers is proposed for application in virtual antenna arrays. The theoretical capacity and throughput gains are evaluated as a function of signal-to-noise ratio. It is shown that the scheme has particular benefits in both ergodic and non-ergodic channel environments, and outperforms virtual antenna arrays based solely upon conventional orthogonal space time block codes.