A Blind OFDM Synchronization Algorithm Based on Cyclic Correlation

Future wireless systems will need to employ blind estimation to achieve better spectral efficiency. In this letter, we introduce a blind synchronization algorithm for jointly estimating timing and frequency offset in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. The proposed estimator exploits the second-order cyclostationarity of received signals and then uses the symbol-timing and carrier frequency offset information appearing in the cyclic correlation. Because it is a blind estimator, no channel impulse response information is required. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed estimator performs at a sufficiently high level, thus indicating its suitability for use over fading channels.