A Survey on Peak to Average Power Reduction Techniques for OFDM Systems

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is basically a multiple carrier communication technique which has several applications in the wireless communication because of high spectral efficiency. The major challenge faced by OFDM systems is its high value of peak-to-average power ratio often termed as PAPR. The high value of PAPR forces the operation of high power amplifiers to shift out of the non-linear region, thereby causing non-linear distortion. Moreover, amplifiers with a large linear region can't be used for the high power consumption. Therefore, reducing the PAPR becomes mandatory. This paper introduces different PAPR reduction techniques along with their pros and cons. A comparative analysis is also made among them based on the bit error rate, power increase and computational complexity. Thus, the paper paves the path for future researchers to embark upon developing an effective PAPR reduction mechanism based on the insights provided herein.