Analysis of Combined PAPR Reduction Technique with Predistorter for OFDM System in 5G

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multicarrier modulation technique that has been widely applied in wireless broadband communications such as the fourth-generation (4G) and supports the development of the fifth-generation (5G) technology because it is efficient and effective. However, OFDM has a high Peak to Average Power Ratio (PAPR) value where the system must use a Power Amplifier (PA) with a high linear range so that the signal can work on PA. Whereas, PA is a nonlinear component that has limited linear region according to the component specifications. If an OFDM signal with high PAPR passes through the nonlinear region of PA, the signal will be distorted nonlinearly and ultimately worsen the OFDM performance. Although many researchers are interested in studying this issue, several scenarios are still not explored. This work investigates a way to mitigate nonlinear distortion by a combination of PAPR reduction and PA linearization with predistortion. Memory-Hammerstein has been suggested as a model for predistorter and PA. The input of the predistorter is the PAPR reduced signal with companding technique, which is a simple and effective PAPR reduction technique for OFDM. The system performance will be evaluated using signal spectrum, PAPR, and Bit Error Rate (BER). The simulation results obtained are that the performance drops dramatically to more than 10-1 for the BER value when a nonlinear disturbance is given and the performance improves after a predistorter is applied. The combination of hybrid companding and predistorter offers better performance, it can reduce PAPR and compensating for nonlinear distortions caused by the PA. Hence, this combined scheme can be considered and adopted in future wireless communications systems including 5G.