A frequency and symbol synchronization system for OFDM signals: architecture and simulation results

Abstract

A data-aided frequency and symbol synchronization scheme for M-QAM OFDM signals is suggested. At first, the phase discriminator (PD) and frequency discriminator (FD) for, respectively, the symbol and frequency synchronization loop are described. Second, the transfer function and design parameters of the loop filters are provided. The acquisition and tracking performance of the synchronization system are evaluated using simulation for a 4-PSK signal constellation. The cases of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and frequency and time selective multipath Rayleigh channels are separately tested.