Performance evaluation of space-time coded OFDM systems employing cyclic prefix estimation techniques

Space-time coding (STC) offers an effective transmit-antenna diversity technique to combat fading. On the other hand, the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technique transforms a frequency-selective fading channel into parallel correlated fading channels. Hence, in the presence of frequency selectivity, it is natural to combine STC with the OFDM systems. The channel state information is an essential requirement in the case of ST OFDM systems. In this paper, a unique channel estimation technique for MIMO OFDM systems exploiting the cyclic prefix of OFDM symbols has been proposed. The performance of the ST coded OFDM systems have been evaluated for realistic channel conditions.