Single-carrier FDMA

Single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) is a <a href="/facts/Frequency-division_multiple_access/mQTBIpzA">frequency-division multiple access</a> scheme. Originally known as <a href="/facts/Carrier_interferometry/lQYFN0TQ">Carrier Interferometry</a>, it is also called linearly precoded OFDMA (LP-OFDMA). Like other multiple access schemes (TDMA, FDMA, CDMA, OFDMA), it deals with the assignment of multiple users to a shared communication resource. SC-FDMA can be interpreted as a linearly precoded <a href="/facts/OFDMA/S4DNTNUs">OFDMA</a> scheme, in the sense that it has an additional <a href="/facts/Discrete_Fourier_transform/uK9Tjsbl">DFT</a> processing step preceding the conventional OFDMA processing.
SC-FDMA has drawn great attention as an attractive alternative to <a href="/facts/OFDMA/S4DNTNUs">OFDMA</a>, especially in the uplink communications where lower peak-to-average power ratio (<a href="/facts/Crest_factor/blwdPwdU">PAPR</a>) greatly benefits the mobile terminal in terms of transmit power efficiency and reduced cost of the power amplifier. This is where SC-FDMA gets its name from: it's an OFDM signal that mimics the characteristics of a single-carrier QAM signal. It has been adopted as the uplink multiple access scheme in <a href="/facts/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution/72QhwXHT">3GPP Long Term Evolution</a> (LTE), or Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA).
The performance of SC-FDMA in relation to OFDMA has been the subject of various studies. Although the performance gap is small, SC-FDMA's advantage of low PAPR makes it desirable for uplink wireless transmission in mobile communication systems, where transmitter power efficiency is of paramount importance.

Single-carrier FDMA open-in-new

Single-carrier FDMA