Block synchronization algorithms for UWB-OFDM systems

Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a modulation known by its high spectral efficiency, high tolerance to multipath delay spread in frequency selective channels, and low cost of implementation. However, OFDM systems are extremely sensitive to synchronizations errors. In this paper, we propose an unbiased block synchronization algorithm that uses the structure of the cyclic prefix, the presence of pilot tones in the OFDM block, and an estimation of the channel time impulse response. This algorithm is able to achieve fast synchronization as required, for instance, on Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) multipath fading channels. To quantify the performance of the block synchronization algorithm, we use the start of frame mean square error. Through numerical simulations, we show that our algorithm outperforms previously published synchronization algorithms.