Variable-length subcarrier equalizers for multicarrier systems

We present a novel algorithm for defining the lengths of subcarrier equalizers employed by wireless multicarrier transmission systems operating in frequency-selective fading channels. The equalizer lengths across the subcarriers are varied incrementally in a "greedy" fashion until the average mean squared error (MSE) is below some prescribed threshold. By varying the equalizer lengths, the overall complexity of the equalization is constrained while the system meets a minimum error performance. The results show that when a system employs variable-length equalizers, defined by the proposed algorithm, it significantly outperforms a system employing constant-length equalizers of the same overall complexity.