Power Autocorrelation-Based Blind Estimation of ZP-OFDM Parameters

Abstract

For orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), which is one of the most widely used modulation techniques in modern wireless communications, blindly estimating its parameters in non-cooperative contexts remains a significant challenge. In particular, blind parameter estimation of zero padded OFDM (ZP-OFDM) is more challenging because ZP-OFDM does not include a cyclic prefix, which induces inherent autocorrelation properties. In this paper, we propose a power autocorrelation-based blind estimation method for symbol duration and ZP duration of ZP-OFDM signals. To achieve this, we first analyze the power autocorrelation of ZP-OFDM to estimate the symbol duration. Subsequently, we perform linear regression on each peak of the power autocorrelation to estimate the ZP duration. To verify the performance of the proposed method, we conduct computer simulations by modeling an UWB IEEE 802.15.3a signal. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method effectively estimates ZP-OFDM signal parameters, outperforming conventional approaches.