Simplified channel estimation for OFDM systems with multiple transmit antennas

Multiple transmit-and-receive antennas can be used in orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems to improve communication quality and capacity. In this paper, we present two techniques to improve the performance and reduce the complexity of channel parameter estimation: optimum training-sequence design and simplified channel estimation. The optimal training sequences not only simplify the initial channel estimation, but also attain the best estimation performance. The simplified channel estimation significantly reduces the complexity of the channel estimation at the expense of a negligible performance degradation. The effectiveness of the new techniques is demonstrated through the simulation of an OFDM system with two-transmit and two-receive antennas. The space-time coding with 240 information bits per codeword is used for transmit diversity. From the simulation, the required signal-to-noise ratio is only about 9 dB for a 10% word error rate for a channel with the typical urban- or hilly-terrain delay profile and a 40-Hz Doppler frequency.