Phase noise estimation and compensation in vector OFDM systems

Vector Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (V-OFDM) for single transmit antenna systems is a generalization of OFDM where Single-Carrier Frequency Domain Equalization (SC-FDE) and OFDM are just two special cases. Phase Noise in a V-OFDM system leads to a Common Vector Block Phase Error (CVBPE) as well as an Inter Vector Block Carrier Interference (IVBCI) effect. Severe performance degradation results if these two effects are not estimated and compensated for. In this paper, phase noise estimation and compensation in a V-OFDM system is investigated, whilst highlighting the main differences in terms of performance and complexity as the Vector Size (M) increases. A pilot vector CVBPE estimation technique is derived which is then combined with the Maximum Likelihood (ML) and the Linear Minimum Mean Square Error (LMMSE) techniques to estimate the phase noise. Numerical results are provided to validate the analysis.