Second-order correlation-based algorithm for STBC-OFDM signal identification

An efficient algorithm for identifying space-time block-coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (STBC-OFDM) signals is introduced in this paper. The inherited signal redundancy is exploited for identification, with the second-order correlations between pairs of signals received from diverse antennas used as the identification feature. The decision on the STBC signal is made by employing the statistical properties of the feature estimate. The proposed algorithm does not require STBC or OFDM block synchronization, channel or noise power estimation, and knowledge of the signal constellation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated through extensive simulation experiments. The results show the superiority of the proposed algorithm over the previously reported algorithms, with a reduced observation time and at lower signal-to-noise ratio.