Golay pair aided timing synchronization algorithm for distributed MIMO-OFDM system

In order to solve the problem of inaccurate synchronization for distributed multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) system in both multipath and low signal to noise ratio (SNR) channels, a golay pair aided timing synchronization (GPATS) method is proposed in this paper. A new synchronous training sequence based on the golay pair with guard interval is designed in GPATS method. By utilizing the unique properties of the new training sequence, the different timing point and the inter-transmitter delays (ITD) are obtained at the receiver. Simulation results show that, compared with the traditional synchronization approaches, the proposed algorithm can provide high accuracy in detecting different time offsets caused by the distributed transmitters of the MIMO-OFDM system, especially over multipath and low SNR channels.