Blind Channel Estimation for Zero-Padded OFDM Systems Based on Correlation Matching

In this work, we propose a new blind channel estimator based on correlation-matching techniques for zero padded OFDM systems. The correlation matching approach consists in matching the observation covariance matrix, which is parameterized by the unknown channel vector, with its estimates based on the received observations. The channel estimate, within a complex scalar ambiguity, can be obtained blindly as the solution of a minimization problem. Consistency of the estimator is addressed. Mean square error performance of the proposed estimator and the resulting bit-error rate (BER) performance after zero-forcing equalization are analyzed through computer simulations. The results show the robustness of the proposed technique.