Kalman-filtering timing recovery scheme for orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) systems

This paper describes a new technique for timing synchronization in orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) transceiver systems. The proposed technique is based on non-synchronized sampling rate and no pilot is required to be transmitted. Therefore the transmission capacity is increased. The proposed algorithm employs the angles of the received symbols in the OFDM subchannels and provides a computationally efficient technique for estimation of the timing error. An equivalent state space model is also derived for timing error and then Kalman filtering method is exploited for tracking purposes. The proposed technique is very robust, particularly under low signal to noise ratio conditions and has been verified by means of computer simulations.