Decision directed impulse noise mitigation for OFDM in frequency selective fading channels [DVB-T example]

Impulse noise is a significant problem in some OFDM applications, including digital television broadcasting. In this paper, we study a novel decision directed impulse mitigation algorithm, both analytically and with simulations for the DVB-T parameters. In this algorithm, the noise component in each received input sample is estimated based on preliminary decisions on the transmitted data. When the estimate is large enough to indicate that impulse noise is present in the sample, the estimated noise component is subtracted from the input sample before final demodulation. This technique has been shown to be extremely effective in flat fading channels. In this paper, its application in frequency selective fading channels is analyzed. The optimum weighting factors for combining noise estimates from subcarriers subject to different fading are calculated. Simulation results are presented for Rayleigh and Ricean channels which show that the technique can reduce the error rates due to impulsive noise by an order of magnitude.