Iterative channel estimation approach for space-time/frequency coded OFDM systems with transmitter diversity

Abstract

Focusing on transmit diversity orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission through frequency selective channels, this paper pursues novel iterative channel estimation approaches for both space-frequency OFDM (SF-OFDM) and space-time OFDM (ST-OFDM) systems. Relying on the unifying signal model for SF-OFDM and ST-OFDM transmitter diversity systems, we develop computationally efficient, maximum a posteriori (MAP) channel estimation algorithms according to the MAP criterion. The algorithms require a convenient representation of the discrete multipath fading channel based on the Karhunen-Loeve (KL) orthogonal expansion and estimates the complex channel parameters of each subcarriers iteratively using the expectation-maximisation (EM) method. In order to explore the performance, the closed-form expression for the average symbol error rate (SER) probability is derived for the maximum ratio combiner (MRC). Furthermore, to benchmark performance of the MAP channel estimator, the modified Cramer-Rao bound of channel estimates is also derived. Finally, we provide simulation results studying the influence of delay spread, propagation parameters and modelling mismatch on the performance of channel estimation techniques. Simulation results confirm our theoretical analysis and illustrate that the proposed algorithms are capable of tracking fast fading and improving overall performance.