Iterative Carrier Frequency Offset Estimation for OFDMA Uplink based on Null Subcarriers

In the uplink of an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) system, because of multiple access interference (MAI), carrier frequency offset (CFO) estimation is much more difficult than that in single-user systems. This paper proposes a null subcarrier-based iterative CFO estimation method for the uplink of OFDMA system adopting sub-band based carrier assignment scheme. Rather than applying independent estimations for users separated by bandpass filters, we first obtain an inaccurate initial CFO estimate for each user. Then, we run an iterative scheme which could update the estimates and reduce errors iteration by iteration. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by simulations.