Robust CFO Acquisition in PN‐Padded OFDM Systems

As an alternative to the traditional pilot‐aided orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), the time‐domain pseudonoise (PN)‐padded OFDM provides a higher spectral efficiency. However, the carrier frequency offset (CFO) attenuates peaks of the conventional PN correlation output, which limits the CFO estimation range of the OFDM synchronizer. An improved correlation is proposed in this letter to remove the CFO‐induced amplitude attenuation of correlation peaks. For a synchronizer adopting the designed correlator, a larger range of CFO acquisition is obtained through using wider correlation windows with a smaller interval between them. The proposed method of CFO acquisition is verified in a digital terrestrial multimedia broadcast receiver, in which the synchronizer is able to acquire CFOs up to ±320 kHz in the DVB‐T F1 channel. Furthermore, the acquisition range can be expanded in more favorable channels.     

RLS-Based Joint Estimation and Tracking of Channel Response, Sampling, and Carrier Frequency Offsets for OFDM

This paper proposes a pilot-aided joint channel estimation and synchronization scheme for burst-mode orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Based on the received signal samples containing pilot tones in the frequency domain, a cost function that includes the carrier frequency offset (CFO), sampling clock frequency offset (SFO) and channel impulse response (CIR) coefficients is formulated and used to develop an accompanying recursive least-squares (RLS) estimation and tracking algorithm. By estimating the channel CIR coefficients instead of the channel frequency response in the frequency domain, the proposed scheme eliminates the need for an IFFT block while reducing the number of parameters to be estimated, leading to lower complexity without sacrificing performance and convergence speed. Furthermore, a simple maximum-likelihood (ML) scheme based on the use of two long training symbols (in the preamble) is developed for the coarse estimation of the initial CFO and SFO to suppress dominant ICI effects introduced by CFO and SFO and to enhance the performance and convergence of the fine RLS estimation and tracking. Simulation results demonstrate that, over large ranges of CFO and SFO values, the proposed pilot-aided joint channel estimation and synchronization scheme provides a receiver performance that is remarkably close to the ideal case of perfect channel estimation and synchronization in both AWGN and Rayleigh multipath fading channels.      

Robust and Efficient OFDM Synchronization for FPGA-Based Radios

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a popular modulation technique that can combat impulsive noise, is robust to multipath fading, is spectrally efficient, and can allow flexible allocation of spectrum. It has become a key standard in cognitive radio systems as well as an enabling technology for mobile data access systems. An OFDM receiver’s performance is heavily impacted by the accuracy of its symbol timing offset (STO) and carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation. This paper proposes a novel OFDM synchronization method that combines robust performance with computational efficiency. FPGA prototyping is used to explore the trade-off between the number of computations to be performed and computation word length with respect to both synchronization performance and power consumption. Through simulation, the proposed method is shown to provide accurate fractional CFO estimation as well as STO estimation in a range of channels. In particular, it can yield excellent synchronization performance in the face of a CFO that is larger than many state-of-the-art synchronization implementations can handle. The system implementation demonstrates efficient resource usage and reduced power consumption compared with existing methods, and this is explored as a fine-grained trade-off between performance and power consumption. The result is a robust method suitable for use in low-power radios, enabling less precise analog front ends to be used.     

Modified Guard Band Power Detection for Coarse Carrier Frequency Offset Recovery in OFDM System

Conventional guard band power detection (GPD) method for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) coarse carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation has to be operated after the fine CFO recovery due to its sensitivity to the inter-channel interference (ICI). In the paper, modified GPD methods are presented for OFDM system to obtain more accurate estimation of CFO. The accuracy of GPD estimation can be first improved with a simple operation of power average. Then, extending the idea of Reference symbol Power Adjustment (RPA), two general patterns of sub-carrier power adjustment to improve the estimation performance under nonzero fine CFO are presented. According to complete simulations under the COST 207 multi-path fading channel, estimation performance with the presented modified GPD methods can be significantly improved and therefore can be concurrently operated with the fine carrier offset adjustment.

Estimation of Carrier Frequency Offset With I/Q Mismatch Using Pseudo-Offset Injection in OFDM Systems

This work presents a novel carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation algorithm, based on pseudo-CFO (P-CFO), to estimate the CFO value under the conditions of I/Q mismatch for direct conversion structures with 2-dB gain error and 20-deg. phase error in frequency selective fading channels. To circumvent CFO with I/Q mismatch, the proposed P-CFO algorithm rotates three training symbols by adding extra frequency offset into the received sequence to improve CFO estimation. Simulation results indicate that the estimation error of the proposed method is about 0.3 ppm, which is lower than those of two-repeat preamble-based methods. Additionally, the proposed P-CFO algorithm is compatible with the conventional method, and is appropriate for SoC implementation. The proposed scheme is implemented as part of an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing wireless receiver fabricated in a 0.13-mum CMOS process with 3.3 times 0.4 mm² core area and 10-mW power consumption at 54-Mbits/s data rate.     

Improved time and frequency synchronization for dual-polarization OFDM systems

This article presents techniques for improved estimation of symbol timing offset (STO) and carrier frequency offset (CFO) for dual-polarization (DP) orthogonal frequency division multiplex (DP-OFDM) systems. Recently, quaternion multiple-input multiple-output OFDM has been proposed for high spectral efficiency communication systems, which can flexibly explore different types of diversities such as space, time, frequency, and polarization. This article focuses on synchronization techniques for DP-OFDM systems using a cyclic prefix, where the application of quaternion algebra leads to new improved estimators. Simulations performed for DP system methods show faster reduction of STO estimator variance with a double-slope line in the log-variance line versus signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) plot compared with single-polarization (SP) counterparts, and simulations for CFO estimates show a 3-dB gain of DP over SP estimates for same SNR values defined, respectively, for quaternion-valued or complex-valued signals. Cramer–Rao bounds for STO and CFO are derived for the synchronization methods, correlating with the observed gains of DP over SP OFDM systems.     

Decision-directed fine synchronization in OFDM systems

A new decision-directed (DD) synchronization scheme is proposed for joint estimation of carrier frequency offset (CFO) and sampling clock frequency offset (SFO) in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. By exploiting the hard decisions, we report accurate estimators of residual CFO and small SFO. The performance analysis and simulation results indicate that the proposed novel DD scheme achieves much better performance than the conventional pilot-based schemes in both additive white Gaussian noise and frequency-selective channels.     

Carrier Frequency Synchronization and Tracking for OFDM Systems with Receive Antenna Diversity

Blind carrier frequency synchronization for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with receive diversity is proposed in this paper. This method utilizes the fact that different receive branches contain uncorrelated observations about the same information bits. Due to receive diversity, our synchronizer can perform well without virtual subcarriers when channel state information (CSI) is known. In addition, we shall analyze the effects of CSI errors on the carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation and show that the proposed algorithm is robust to CSI error. In particular, we derive the Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) from the mean square error (MSE) of the carrier frequency synchronizer. Computer simulation results show the performance improvement of our synchronizer to the single antenna systems and to the existing method.     

OFDM盲载波间干扰抑制与同步算法研究

针对载波频偏引起的子载波间干扰问题,提出一种基于独立分量分析的OFDM载波频率同步算法。本算法直接实现载波频率同步,可以避免基于导频机制的频偏估计和由频偏估计误差带来的频谱效率降低与性能损失。首先建立含频偏OFDM独立分量分析模型,然后从最大似然原则得到分离的代价函数,结合自然梯度优化得到OFDM源信号实现载波频率同步。理论分析表明,提出的算法不仅具有基于最大似然的频偏补偿性能而且提高了系统的输出信噪比。最后,仿真分析证明了算法的有效性。      

基于导频信号的MIMO-OFDM同步技术

MIMO-OFDM技术将成为第4代移动通信系统的关键技术,因MIMO-OFDM对时间和频率偏移非常敏感,因此MIMO-OFDM同步显得尤为重要。提出了一种新的MIMO-OFDM定时同步和频偏同步技术。以GCL序列为基础设计了一个新的符合MIMO-OFDM同步技术的导频序列,通过对该导频序列进行2次相关得到频率估计,并将所得频率运用到定时同步中,得到更为准确的时间估计。仿真结果表明,在相同的信噪比情况下,该方法可以使得系统的误码率和帧传送误码率相对传统方法得到进一步减小。     

Joint Carrier Frequency Offset and Channel Estimation for Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative OFDM System

In this paper, we develop a new joint carrier frequency offset (CFO) and channel estimation algorithm for Amplify-and-Forward (AF) cooperative (CO)-OFDM systems. An expanded Basis Expansion Model (E-BEM) is proposed for time variant multipath channels. Based on the E-BEM, a joint OFDM channel estimation and synchronization method is derived. We also apply the space-frequency-block-code (SFBC) to AF CO-OFDM systems. Simulation results reveal that the proposed joint algorithm works well, leading to considerable gains of overall performance.     

Cyclostationarity-Based Frequency Synchronization for OFDM Systems Over Doubly-Selective Fading Channels

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems are highly sensitive to carrier frequency offset (CFO), especially in doubly-selective fading environment. Cyclostationarity-based blind synchronization methods are appealing in high-data-rate applications and low signal-to-noise regions. However, the cyclostationarity has not been exploited for frequency synchronization of OFDM systems under doubly-selective fading channels. In this paper, we derive the close-form second order cyclic statistics of the received OFDM signal in presence of CFO, by modeling the doubly-selective fading channel with basis expansion model. Both transmitter-induced cyclostationarity and doubly-selective channel information are contained in the derived cyclic moments, and they are efficiently utilized for CFO estimation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed estimator provides significant improvements on frequency synchronization performance.     

Performance analysis of frequency synchronization in MIMO-OFDM systems with ST/MRC scheme

In this paper, the performance of frequency synchronization in a multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) system is analyzed for the purpose of carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation and compensation. Speci?cally, a joint transmit antenna selection (ST) and receive maximum ratio combining (MRC) （ST/MRC） method is adopted, that is, only one transmit antenna with the highest channel power is selected while MRC is used at the receiver to maximize the sum of frequency synchronization metric. The mean square error (MSE) closed-form expressions of CFO estimation are derived for several antenna con?gurations. Simulations in both ?at and multipath fading channels validate the theoretical analysis.     

OFDM Carrier Synchronization Based on Time-Domain Channel Estimates

Carrier frequency synchronization is critical to the quality of signal reception in OFDM systems. This paper presents an approximate maximum-likelihood (ML) carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation scheme based on time-domain channel estimates which retain the CFO information in the form of phase rotation. The proposed ML CFO estimate is investigated under static as well as time-varying fading channels. Statistical properties of the estimator are examined and Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) is derived. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations show that the proposed CFO estimator renders excellent performance with lower computational complexity. The proposed CFO estimate also has an advantage of allowing for more flexible pilot patterns     

Robust Frame Synchronization for Chinese DTTB System

Digital terrestrial multimedia/television broadcasting (DTMB), which is the recently released Chinese digital television terrestrial broadcasting (DTTB) standard, uses guard intervals padded with known pseudo-noise (PN) sequences for multi-carrier or single-carrier block transmission. Well designed synchronization algorithms are a prerequisite for achieving high-quality multimedia transmission. In this paper, a novel frame synchronization technique, which is robust to carrier frequency offset (CFO), is proposed for DTMB systems. This technique is derived through segmenting the local PN sequence into M contiguous blocks and performing multiple cross-correlations with the received signal. The metric for peak detection is defined as the non-coherent summation of the M cross-correlation magnitude outputs. Moreover, a low-complexity frame synchronizer based on segment-based full correlation for PN420 mode in DTMB system is proposed. It is shown through computer simulation that the proposed techniques generally outperform the conventional ones when CFO occurs, over both AWGN and frequency-selective fading channels. For a DTMB system using PN420 mode, the maximal allowed CFO to keep system still working normally of our proposed schemes are more than 3 times larger than that of the conventional method.     

Joint low‐complexity equalization and CFO estimation and compensation for UWA‐OFDM communication systems

Frequency synchronization has a great importance in preserving the performance of the underwater acoustic (UWA) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation can be blind or data‐aided. In this paper, the Zadoff‐Chu (ZC) sequences are used for OFDM synchronization in UWA communications, and they are compared with different data‐aided algorithms. We propose a low‐complexity algorithm for CFO estimation based on ZC sequences. Also, a joint equalization and CFO compensation scheme for UWA‐OFDM communication systems is presented. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed CFO estimation algorithm allows estimation of the CFO accurately with a simple implementation in comparison with the traditional schemes. Also, the performance of the UWA‐OFDM system can be preserved in the presence of frequency offsets.     

一种改进的OFDM盲同步算法

研究了OFDM系统中的最大似然估计(ML)算法,并使用数据循环移位以及多符号联合估计等技术对ML算法进行了改进,随后提出了一个综合性的新方案。仿真结果显示,在AWGN和瑞利多径衰落信道中,该方案可以有效提高符号定时偏差(STO)和载波频率偏移(CFO)的估计性能。     

Novel Scheme for Joint Estimation of SNR, Doppler, and Carrier Frequency Offset in Double-Selective Wireless Channels

As receiver performance will be degraded by carrier frequency offset (CFO), Doppler shift, and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), a novel estimator that jointly considers CFO, Doppler shift, and SNR is proposed in this paper. The proposed algorithm uses the Fourier transform (FT) to calculate the power spectral density of time-varying channels through channel estimates. Then, a new periodogram technique is utilized to estimate CFO, Doppler shift, and SNR together. Unlike conventional methods in sinusoid estimation, which rely on the peak-value search of a periodogram, this paper exploits the hypothesis test to address the random frequency modulation of time-varying channels. Furthermore, to optimize estimation performance, a theoretical analysis is also provided on the influences of some key parameters, e.g., the length of the signal processed with fast FT , the amplitude threshold value, the SNR dynamic range, and the velocity dynamic range. Correspondingly, the appropriate key parameters are chosen according to this analysis and are validated by simulations. The results are consistent with our analysis and present high accuracy over a wide range of velocities and SNRs.      

Carrier Frequency Offset and I/Q Imbalance Compensation for MB-OFDM Based UWB System

Two types of wireless communication system imperfections, namely carrier frequency offset (CFO) and in-phase/quadrature-phase (I/Q) imbalance, are addressed in this paper. We propose an efficient time domain CFO and I/Q imbalance estimation and compensation scheme for multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing based ultra-wideband system. In this scheme, a data-aided CFO estimation algorithm, which is robust to a large I/Q imbalance, is presented. Also, a time domain I/Q imbalance estimation algorithm based on partially CFO compensated preambles is introduced. Finally a two-step joint CFO and I/Q imbalance compensation scheme is developed. Taking full advantage of the ECMA-368 preamble symbols, the proposed scheme is competent for large I/Q imbalance (2-dB gain error and 20-deg Phase error) and carrier frequency offset (50 ppm), and the results are confirmed by simulations.     

Blind Feedforward Frequency Estimation for OFDM Signals Transmitted over Multipath Fading Channels

This paper provides an approximate closed form solution to the problem of maximum likelihood (ML) estimation of the carrier frequency offset (CFO) in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal transmitted over a multipath fading channel. This results in a novel feedforward frequency synchronizer, requiring only an approximate statistical knowledge of the communication channel. The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed by computer simulations and is compared with that provided by other synchronizers and with Cramer-Rao bounds.