Robust Semi-Blind Estimation of Channel and CFO for GFDM Systems

We propose a robust semi-blind estimation scheme of channel and carrier frequency offset (CFO) for generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) systems. This, to the best of our knowledge, is the first work to propose an integral solution to channel and full-range CFO for a wide range of GFDM systems. Based on the derived equivalent system model with CFO included implicitly, a subspace based method is proposed to perform initial channel estimation blindly, which requires only a small number of received symbols to achieve the second order statistics of the received signal. Then, CFO estimation and channel ambiguity elimination are undertaken in series by utilizing a small number of nulls and pilots in a single sub-symbol. Both channel and CFO estimations are more robust against inter-carrier interference (ICI) and inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by the nonorthogonal filter of GFDM, compared to the existing methods. The proposed scheme achieves a bit error rate (BER) performance close to the ideal case with perfect CFO and channel estimations especially at medium and high signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs).