A synchronization technique for generalized frequency division multiplexing

Generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) is a block filtered multicarrier modulation scheme recently proposed for future wireless communication systems. It generalizes the concept of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), featuring multiple circularly pulse-shaped subsymbols per subcarrier. This paper presents an algorithm for GFDM synchronization and investigates the use of a preamble that consists of two identical parts combined with a windowing process in order to satisfy low out of band radiation requirements. The performance of time and frequency estimation, with and without windowing, is evaluated in terms of the statistical properties of residual offsets and the impact on symbol error rate over frequency-selective channels. A flexible metric that quantifies the penalty of misalignments is derived. The results show that this approach performs practically as state-of-the-art OFDM schemes known in the literature, while it additionally can reduce the sidelobes of the spectrum emission.