Evaluation of estimation and mitigation algorithms for nonlinearly distorted OFDM signals on a SDR platform

Nonlinear distortions by analog frontend components are becoming a growing problem. Not only do stringent linearity requirements that are crucial for modern modulation schemes like OFDM boost the costs in development and fabrication, but highly linear amplifiers are usually very energy inefficient. This paper is a follow-up on previous work on the blind estimation and mitigation of nonlinearity characteristics. We prove the low complexity by implementing an OFDM transmission system utilizing the proposed estimation and mitigation method on a SDR platform using only off-the-shelf components and highlevel languages. Furthermore, we show that the method does not only work in simulations but also for a real hardware amplifier. Despite a mismatch between model and hardware amplifier characteristic, significant mitigation gains are achieved.