A frame synchronizer for IEEE 802.15.4-g MR-OFDM PHY: Algorithm proposal and hardware implementation

This work presents the proposal of a Frame Synchronization algorithm and its implementation architecture tar-getting the MR-OFDM physical layer (PHY) of IEEE 802.15.4-g, which is an amendment to IEEE 802.15.4 standard for supporting Smart Metering Utility Network (SUN). The proposed synchronizer makes part of a project that is under development and aims to implement in ASIC the 3 PHYs defined by the IEEE 802.15.4-g, i.e. MR-FSK, MR-OQPSK and MR-OFDM. The paper shows details on the proposed synchronization method, which makes use of the repetition pattern presented in the frame preamble, and also discusses the simulation results with acceptable performance under low SNR. Furthermore, the implemented architecture was verified in RTL simulation, giving hint that the algorithm is suitable for hardware implementation in real-world target applications.