Zero-Forcing Frequency-Domain Equalization for Generalized DMT Transceivers with Insufficient Guard Interval

We propose a zero-forcing frequency domain block equalizer for discrete multitone (DMT) systems with a guard interval of insufficient length. In addition to the insufficient guard interval in the time domain, the equalizer takes advantage of frequency domain redundancy in the form of subcarriers that do not transmit any data. After deriving sufficient conditions for zero-forcing equalization, that is, complete removal of intersymbol and intercarrier interference, we calculate the noise enhancement of the equalizer by evaluating the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for each subcarrier. The SNRs are used by an adaptive loading algorithm. It decides how many bits are assigned to each subcarrier in order to achieve a maximum data rate at a fixed error probability. We show that redundancy in the time domain can be traded off for redundancy in the frequency domain resulting in a transceiver with a lower system latency time. The derived equalizer matrix is sparse, thus resulting in a low computational complexity.