Timing and Carrier Synchronization in Wireless Communication Systems: A Survey and Classification of Research in the Last 5 Years

Timing and carrier synchronization is a fundamental requirement for any wireless communication system to work properly. Timing synchronization is the process by which a receiver node determines the correct instants of time at which to sample the incoming signal. Carrier synchronization is the process by which a receiver adapts the frequency and phase of its local carrier oscillator with those of the received signal. In this paper, we survey the literature over the last 5 years (2010–2014) and present a comprehensive literature review and classification of the recent research progress in achieving timing and carrier synchronization in single-input single-output (SISO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), cooperative relaying, and multiuser/multicell interference networks. Considering both single-carrier and multi-carrier communication systems, we survey and categorize the timing and carrier synchronization techniques proposed for the different communication systems focusing on the system model assumptions for synchronization, the synchronization challenges, and the state-of-the-art synchronization solutions and their limitations. Finally, we envision some future research directions

Near-Instantaneously Adaptive HSDPA-Style OFDM Versus MC-CDMA Transceivers for WIFI, WIMAX, and Next-Generation Cellular Systems

Burts-by-burst (BbB) adaptive high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) style multicarrier systems are reviewed, identifying their most critical design aspects. These systems exhibit numerous attractive features, rendering them eminently eligible for employment in next-generation wireless systems. It is argued that BbB-adaptive or symbol-by-symbol adaptive orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) modems counteract the near instantaneous channel quality variations and hence attain an increased throughput or robustness in comparison to their fixed-mode counterparts. Although they act quite differently, various diversity techniques, such as Rake receivers and space-time block coding (STBC) are also capable of mitigating the channel quality variations in their effort to reduce the bit error ratio (BER), provided that the individual antenna elements experience independent fading. By contrast, in the presence of correlated fading imposed by shadowing or time-variant multiuser interference, the benefits of space-time coding erode and it is unrealistic to expect that a fixed-mode space-time coded system remains capable of maintaining a near-constant BER

Experimental Demonstration of OFDM/OQAM Transmission for Visible Light Communications

We propose a modified orthogonal frequency division multiplexing/offset quadrature amplitude modulation (OFDM/OQAM) scheme for visible light communications (VLC). The OFDM/OQAM VLC system can efficiently boost the data rate, and combat multipath induced the inter symbol interference (ISI) and inter carrier interference (ICI). To combat the effect of intrinsic imaginary interference, intrasymbol frequency-domain averaging and minimum mean squared error (MMSE), combined with interference approximation method, are proposed. The experiment results show that the proposed system offers similar bit error rate performance to that of OFDM, while the bit rate is increased by 9% for the elimination of cyclic-prefix and guard band

Efficient frequency-domain channel equalisation methods for OFDM visible light communications

The authors present efficient frequency-domain channel estimation methods based on the intra-symbol frequency-domain averaging (ISFA), minimum mean squared error (MMSE) and weighted inter-frame averaging (WIFA) schemes for the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) visible light communications (VLC) system. OFDM-VLC with quadrature phase shift keying, 16- and 64-quadrature amplitude modulation mapping is experimentally demonstrated. Compared with the conventional least square channel estimation method, ISFA, MMSE and WIFA offer improved performance with MMSE offering the best performance in terms of the error vector magnitude but at the cost of high complexity. The authors show that the WIFA can improve the estimation accuracy of time-varying VLC optical channel

Influence of Timing Offset in Multiband OFDM Systems

In Cyclix Prefix OFDM (CP) systems, synchronization to the maximal multipath signal generally causes no problem, however, inter carrier interference (ICI) will be introduced in Zero-padding OFDM (ZP-OFDM) systems, e.g, multiband OFDM UWB (MB-OFDM) systems. In this paper, based on the overlap-and-add (ZP-OFDM-OLA) method typically applied in MB-OFDM, we analyze the cause of the ICI and the performance degradation due to the ICI. The expressions of the channel estimation error, signal-to-noise ratio and ICI are derived. Simulation results are also provided, which show good match with the theoretical results

Transmission optique longue distance avec le format MB-OFDM cohérent à 100 Gbps

Today the 100 Gbps coherent dual polarization quadrature phase shift keying (Co-DP-QPSK) is standardized as the industrial solution for long-haul WDM transmission. Another alternative format to DP-QPSK that permits also to reach a data rate of 100 Gbps and beyond is the coherent orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) format. However a doubt exists over the ability of OFDM to be as efficient as QPSK for long-haul WDM transmission due to its supposed higher sensitivity to nonlinear effects . In this thesis, we have investigated the potential of Co-DP-OFDM for 100 Gbps WDM transport. The digital signal processing algorithms are detailed as well as the various experimental set-ups required to carry out and validate the 100 Gbps transceiver. We also present the transmission results obtained with several configurations. In one of these configurations, the 100 Gbps Co-DP-OFDM channel is multiplexed with forty 100 Gbps DP-QPSK channels and all these channels are transmitted over 1000 km of DCF-free G.652 fiber, while in another configuration, the Co-DP-OFDM and Co-DP-QPSK channels are combined with seventy eight 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK channels and transmitted over 1000 km of dispersion managed G.652 fiber line. We have demonstrated that OFDM and QPSK have nearly the same performance after a transmission over 1000 km, and also we have demonstrated that the transmission of these two formats over legacy fiber infrastructure is possible under the condition of decreasing by 5 dB the 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK channel power with respect to the 100 Gbps channels. The results presented in this thesis are very valuable when considering the next generation of 400 Gbps or 1 Tbps for WDM systems.Aujourd'hui, le format « Quadrature Phase Shift Keying » avec multiplexage de polarisation (DP-QPSK) opérant à 100 Gbps est devenue un standard pour la transmission WDM longue distance. Une alternative au format DP-QPSK permettant d’atteindre des débits de 100 Gbps et plus (400 G & 1Tbps) est l’ « Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing » (OFDM). Mais, des interrogations subsistent quant à sa robustesse aux effets non linéaires. Dans cette thèse nous avons étudié le potentiel de la technologie OFDM pour la transmission WDM longue distance à 100 Gbps. Le traitement du signal est détaillé ainsi que la mise en œuvre du transmetteur et récepteur OFDM cohérent. Nous présentons aussi les résultats expérimentaux de la transmission obtenus dans plusieurs configurations. Dans l’une de ces configurations, le canal modulé avec le format DP-OFDM coherent (Co-DP-OFDM) est multiplexé avec 40 canaux modulés en DP-QPSK à 100 Gbps. Les canaux ont ensuite été transmis sur 1000 km de fibre G.652 sans gestion de dispersion chromatique. Dans une autre configuration, les canaux Co-DP-OFDM et Co-DP-QPSK sont combinés avec 78 canaux 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK et transmis sur 1000 km de fibre G.652 avec gestion de dispersion. Nous avons montré que le Co-DP-OFDM et Co-DP-QPSK ont des performances similaires après une transmission de 1000 km sur une ligne sans gestion de dispersion, et nous avons aussi montré que la transmission de ces formats sur une infrastructure de fibre deployée est possible à condition de réduire de 5 dB la puissance des canaux 10 Gbps NRZ-OOK par rapport aux canaux à100 Gbps. Ces résultats sont précieux pour la prochaine génération de systèmes WDM à 400 Gbps ou 1 Tbps