Low complexity parameter estimation for the generalized RAKE receiver

RAKE reception is commonly used in the downlink of direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) cellular systems. However, RAKE receivers suffer performance losses in frequency selective channels due to inter-symbol interference (ISI) and multiple access interference (MAT). Recently, the generalized RAKE (G-RAKE) receiver has emerged as a low complexity technique for downlink interference suppression. We propose simple approaches herein to place fingers and estimate key parameters of the G-RAKE receiver. Simulations show that a G-RAKE receiver utilizing this approach provides significant performance improvement over a conventional RAKE receiver.