A new pilot assisted frequency synchronization for wireless OFDM systems

A new frequency offset synchronization algorithm is proposed for OFDM systems over time varying multipath fading channels. This algorithm employs pilot symbols embedded in data symbols to estimate the frequency offset. In particular, a fine frequency offset estimate is achieved by properly combining frequency-offset estimates from pilots over different frequency locations. Moreover, the effects of time varying channels and the number of sub-carriers are analyzed and the rule for the selection of the number of OFDM symbols used for the synchronization algorithm is given. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.