Around the world, among signal processing and modulation theorists, according to emerging new requirements and diverse use cases, there is a general debate about the heir of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for the next generations of wireless communication. The authors wrote the paper with this concern in mind, and link-level performance, advanced multicarrier waveforms, and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) are its starting key phrases, reflecting its general nature. Lower out-of-bound (OOB), lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and smaller frame error rate (FER) are the investigated criteria among the propounded physical-layer waveforms: filtered OFDM (F-OFDM), universal-filtered OFDM (UF-OFDM), filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and generalized frequency-division multiplexing (GFDM).

The paper begins with a rich introduction, which covers issues such as implication of orthogonality or nonorthogonality, intersymbol interference (ISI), intercarrier interference (ICI), interblock interference (IBI), interantenna interference (IAI), subcarrier base filtering, and synchronized appropriate temporal and spatial localization of pulses. The considered waveforms are formalized perfectly in the MIMO system with a valuable table that demonstrates their comparative frame parameterization and complexity. With modeling a multipath Rayleigh fading MIMO channel, mathematical evaluation of the aforementioned waveforms for an optimized receiver design is provided. Minimum mean squared error (MMSE) equalization methods are used to evaluate the performance of the modulation schemes; a table illustrates the arithmetic complexities required for the MMSE equalization.

The discussion proceeds with simulation results of a MIMO scenario, in which great insights can be acquired about the waveforms with metrics of interest: OOB emission, PAPR, and coded FER performance. The different waveforms are examined based on the power spectral density in the OOB emission rate, filtering role in PAPR, synchronization, and frequency domain equalization in FER.

The paper has a nice technical analysis theme of discussion, about the link level performance of the probable alternatives of OFDM. It gathers useful technical tips about the properties of the waveforms from good references, making it a significant reference for those investigating the heir of OFDM at 5G and beyond. Some knowledge about FBMC and GFDM is recommended prior to reading the paper.