Non-Data-Aided Parametric- and Nonparametric-Based Carrier Frequency Estimators for Burst GMSK Communication Systems

Abstract

In this paper, we propose non-data-aided (NDA) parametric- and nonparametric-based methods for carrier frequency estimation of burst Gaussian minimum-shift keying (GMSK), which have improved performance over ad hoc methods such as delay and multiply and have higher resolution capability. Specifically, three methods are developed for burst GMSK data to improve carrier estimation performance, and their results are compared with the standard delay-and-multiply method. Two of them are parametric-based estimators, and one is a fast nonparametric-based estimator. Parametric-based estimators were studied in detail in this paper due to their high-resolution capabilities and proven performance. However, their computational complexities were found to be relatively high in comparison to nonparametric-based estimators such as the autocorrelation method. The tradeoffs involved with respect to computational load and performance are presented.