An Estimation-Range Extended Autocorrelation-Based Frequency Estimator

We address the problem of autocorrelation-based single-tone frequency estimation. It has been shown that the frequency can be estimated from the phase of the available signal’s autocorrelation with fixed lag. A large lag results in better performance but at the same time limits the estimation range. New methods have been proposed to extend the estimation range. In this paper, a new estimator which is a robust hybrid of periodogram-based and autocorrelation-based frequency estimators is presented. We propose to calculate the autocorrelation function with spectral lines inside the available signal’s main lobe spectrum. We show that the new estimator obtains full estimation range of [−π,π). The theoretical performance bound is also deduced. Performance analysis and simulations demonstrate that the proposed estimator approaches the CRLB.