Blind Sampling Clock Offset Estimation Algorithm for OFDM System

Sampling clock offset (SCO) could lead to a phase rotation and the Inter-Carrier Interferences (ICI), thus introduce an unacceptable BER in OFDM system. To estimate SCO, conventional methods rely on a known synchronization symbol or pilot symbols, which inevitably trim down the spectral efficiency of OFDM systems and are not available in non-cooperative communications. A novel blind estimation algorithm for SCO based on second order statistics of the received OFDM samples is devised in this paper, which can be used successfully for non-cooperative communications. Experiments indicate that better performance and lower complexity gain compared to existing blind schemes.