Peak-to-Average Power Ratio of Multicarrier Faster-Than-Nyquist Signals: Distribution, Optimization and Reduction

Multicarrier faster-than-Nyquist (MFTN) is a spectral efficient transmission scheme for future communication systems. However, as one of the most important drawbacks of multicarrier transmission systems, the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of MFTN signals is still not clear yet. In this paper, we investigate the PAPR of MFTN signals for nonlinear satellite communication systems. First of all, the PAPR distribution of MFTN signals under various practical situations is evaluated, and we show that the PAPR of MFTN signals is closely related to the number of subcarriers, the shaping pulse, and the time–frequency packing factors. Moreover, different from conventional Nyquist multicarrier signals, certain time–frequency packing in MFTN will however, improve the PAPR performance. Then, the PAPR of MFTN signals under the given spectral efficiency is considered. By jointly optimizing the time–frequency spacing to minimize the PAPR, we show that the MFTN combined with low-order modulation could be more energy efficient than the corresponding Nyquist high-order modulation signals. Finally, we investigate the PAPR reduction for MFTN signals. Specifically, a selective mapping-based alternative-signal scheme, which mainly intended for the conventional Nyquist multicarrier signals, is extended to the MFTN signaling system. It is shown that the PAPR reduction performance of the considered scheme is robust to the time–frequency packing, and even approaches the conventional orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing system. Our numerical results validate that besides the high spectral efficiency, the MFTN may be also an energy efficient transmission scheme for next-generation satellite communication systems.