Time synchronization fo MB-OFDM UWB systems

OFDM symbol timing error amount to a major degradation in the system performance. Conventionally, timing error is estimated by predefined preamble on both transmitter and receiver. The maximum of the correlation result is considered the start of the OFDM symbol. Problem arises when the prime path is not the strongest one. In this paper, we proposed a new timing error estimation method for multi-band OFDM ultra wide-band (MB-OFDM UWB) systems. it is assumed that a coarse timing has been obtained prior to the proposed method. Based on the coarse timing, search interval is set (or time candidates). Exploiting channel statistics that are assumed to be known at the receiver, we derive a maximum a posteriori estimate (MAP) of the channel impulse response. based on this estimate, we discern for the timing error. Finally, efficient hardware design is proposed for the proposed algorithm for real-time applications.