Maximum‐likelihood synchronization and channel estimation with multiuser detection in GFDMA

Abstract

AbstractAccurate estimation and correction of channel distortions and carrier frequency offset (CFO) are of a great importance in any multicarrier communication system. Hence, in this paper, we propose data‐aided CFO and channel estimation techniques for both multiuser uplink and downlink of the generalized frequency division multiple access (GFDMA). Our proposed solutions jointly estimate the CFO and channel responses based on the maximum‐likelihood criterion. To simplify the implementation of the proposed estimation algorithms, we suggest a preamble composed of two similar Zadoff‐Chu training sequences in a generalized frequency division multiplexing block. It is worth mentioning that our proposed technique can estimate both integer and fractional CFO values without any limitation on the acquisition range of CFO. In the uplink phase, each user aligns its carrier frequency with the base station using the estimated CFO in the downlink. However, the CFO estimates may get outdated for the uplink transmission. Thus, residual CFOs may still remain in the received signal at the base station. While being trivial in the downlink, CFO correction is a challenging task in the uplink. Thus, we also propose a joint CFO correction and channel equalization technique for the uplink of GFDMA systems. Finally, we evaluate our proposed estimation and correction algorithms in terms of estimation mean square error and bit error rate performance through simulations.