Power-balanced orthogonal space-time block code

In this paper, we propose two new systematic ways to construct amicable orthogonal designs (AODs), with the aim of facilitating the construction of power-balanced orthogonal space-time block codes (O-STBCs) with favorable practical attributes. We also show that an AOD can be constructed from an amicable family (AF), and such a construction is crucial for achieving a power-balanced O-STBC. In addition, we develop design guidelines on how to select the "type" parameter of an AOD so that the resultant O-STBC will have better power-distribution and code-coefficient attributes. Among the new O-STBCs obtained, one is shown to be optimal in terms of power-distribution attributes. In addition, one of the proposed construction methods is shown to generalize some other construction methods proposed in the literature.