DFT-based frequency estimators with narrow acquisition range

The authors propose new frequency estimators, with narrow frequency acquisition range, which are based on the calculation of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the input signal. The algorithms consist of two steps: coarse and fine search of the periodogram peak. This frequency estimator structure employing either parabolic interpolation, dichotomous search, two-rate spectral estimation or their combination for fine search allows a considerable decrease in computational load with respect to known estimators. The proposed estimators are shown to have accuracy performance close to that of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimator.