OFDM versus Single Carrier with Cyclic Prefix: a system-based comparison

Abstract

In recent years, wireless indoor networks have received a lot of scientific and industrial attention. Most systems rely on the use of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) because of its capability to elegantly cope with multipath interference. However, while OFDM provides a nice solution for the digital modem, its front-end requirements should be investigated as well. To that goal, we have set up a simulation environment which comprises both the digital modem and the most important front-end nonidealities. We show that for the same data rate, bandwidth and transmit power constraints, Single-Carrier with Cyclic Prefix (SC-CP) allows the design of a more power-efficient modem than OFDM and is therefore a better candidate for portable wireless terminals.