Performance Analysis of PAPR and LS Estimation in OFDM Systems

Abstract

The inherent feature of the highly efficient spectrum usage has made Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) preferable for Communication Standards. This study evaluated the performance of a Least Square (LS) estimator for a comb-type pilot insertion scheme over a fast fading Rayleigh channel. A High Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is one of the major downsides of the OFDM. The effects of an increase in the number of subcarriers on PAPR and the performance of the LS Estimator were studied. Increasing the number of subcarriers while keeping the pilots overhead constant resulted in improved performance of the LS estimator but the PAPR increased with increasing number of subcarriers. Therefore some trade-off between the number of subcarriers and the performance of the OFDM system is needed. The Mean Square Error (MSE) expression was also derived for the LS estimator in the case of a comb-type pilot arrangement. The MSE expression clearly explains the effects of the number of subcarriers on the performance of the LS estimator.