ICI-Free Equalization in OFDM Systems with Blanking Preprocessing at the Receiver for Impulsive Noise Mitigation

In this letter, we consider the problem of equalizing finite-impulse response (FIR) channels in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems, which employ at the receiver a blanking nonlinearity to mitigate impulsive noise (IN). By exploiting the frequency redundancy associated with the presence of OFDM virtual carriers, we design a frequency-domain linear FIR equalizer that compensates for the intercarrier interference (ICI) generated by nonlinear preprocessing. Monte Carlo computer simulations, carried out assuming a Middleton Class A model for the IN, allows one to assess the error probability performance of the proposed equalizer.