To meet the requirements of high data rate, third generation partnership project (3GPP) has come across the development of long term evolution (LTE). High data rate can be achieved with the help of an advanced modulation method. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) was considered as a modulation method especially in the downlink of the communication systems. It gives many advantages like frequency diversity, increased capacity and robustness against impulse noise. Besides these advantages, a major drawback of OFDMA is its high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). High PAPR affects the system by lowering the power amplifier efficiency, increased complexity as well as shorter battery life. In case of uplink communication, where better peak power characteristics benefit the mobile terminals with respect to power efficiency, OFDMA is not a possible solution. To handle such situations, 3GPP has introduced a modified form of OFDMA which is known as Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA). It provides same advantages as OFDMA along with low PAPR. To further improve the bit error rate (BER) performance of the system and power amplifier efficiency Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) can be extended to SC-FDMA system. This paper surveys causes, effects and possible solutions of high PAPR in a communication system.
