Evaluation of Modulation Techniques for 5G Wireless Communication: A Performance Comparison of OFDM, F-OFDM, UFMC and FBMC in terms of PSD, BER and SNR Metrics

Modulation techniques in 5G wireless communication systems play a crucial role in meeting demands for higher data rates, lower latency, and improved connectivity. This involves optimizing power spectral density (PSD), enhancing data transmission reliability, and reducing bit error rates (BER) and interference. The objective of this paper is to evaluate primary modulation schemes used in 5G—Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Filter-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (F-OFDM), Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC), and Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC)—based on performance metrics such as PSD, BER, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) using MATLAB. OFDM demonstrates low BER at high SNR but faces degradation at lower SNRs, necessitating a higher SNR for maintaining low BER. F-OFDM improves BER in noisy environments through reduced out-of-band emissions and improved spectral efficiency. FBMC shows lower BER than OFDM, especially in multipath fading scenarios, despite its higher complexity. UFMC provides balanced performance with moderate BER across varying SNRs, offering a trade-off between simplicity and efficiency, with stable BER and enhanced spectral efficiency, and reduced latency compared to OFDM. Each modulation scheme in 5G presents specific strengths and weaknesses. OFDM is robust and widely used, while F-OFDM, FBMC, and UFMC enhance spectral efficiency, BER, and SNR management. Selecting the appropriate technique depends on network requirements, with MATLAB simulations playing a crucial role in optimizing 5G network performance.