I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to automatic frequency control (AFC) for wireless communication.
II. Background
In wireless communication, a transmitter modulates data onto a radio frequency (RF) carrier signal to generate an RF modulated signal that is more suitable for transmission. The transmitter then transmits the RF modulated signal via a wireless channel to a receiver. The transmitted signal may reach the receiver via one or more signal paths, which may include a line-of-sight path and/or reflected paths. The characteristics of the wireless channel may vary over time due to various phenomena such as fading and multipath. Consequently, the transmitted signal may experience different channel conditions and may be received with different amplitudes and/or phases over time.
The receiver receives the transmitted signal, downconverts the received signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal, and processes the downconverted signal to recover the data sent by the transmitter. The receiver typically performs frequency control (e.g., frequency acquisition and tracking) to estimate the frequency error in the LO signal and to correct this frequency error. This frequency error may be due to various factors such as receiver circuit component tolerances, temperature variations, and Doppler effect due to movement by the receiver and/or transmitter. The frequency control may be challenging if the requirements on frequency accuracy are stringent.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to expeditiously and reliably perform frequency control for wireless communication.
Techniques for performing frequency control in a wireless communication system with multiple subcarriers are described herein. The multiple subcarriers may be obtained with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or some other modulation technique.
In one aspect, techniques are described for performing frequency control in a system that transmits a pilot along with OFDM symbols. Frequency acquisition is performed based on a received pilot, which may be time division multiplexed with the OFDM symbols. Frequency tracking is performed based on received OFDM symbols. For frequency acquisition, an initial frequency error estimate may be derived based on the received pilot, and an automatic frequency control (AFC) loop may be initialized with the initial frequency error estimate. For frequency tracking, a frequency error estimate may be derived for each received OFDM symbol, and the AFC loop may be updated with the frequency error estimate. Frequency error in input samples is corrected by the AFC loop with the initial frequency error estimate as well as the frequency error estimate for each received OFDM symbol.
In another aspect, techniques are described for deriving a frequency error estimate for a received OFDM symbol. A variable number of samples of the received OFDM symbol are selected (e.g., based on the received OFDM symbol timing) for use for frequency error estimation. In an embodiment, the start of an FFT window is determined based on the timing of the received OFDM symbol. The samples to use for frequency error estimation are then selected from among the samples within the FFT window and for a cyclic prefix of the received OFDM symbol. A frequency error estimate is then derived based on the selected samples.
Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are described in further detail below.
The features and nature of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which like reference characters identify correspondingly throughout.
The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs.
The frequency control techniques described herein may be used for various communication systems such as cellular systems, broadcast systems, wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite positioning systems, and so on. The cellular systems may be Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) systems, and so on. The broadcast systems may be MediaFLO systems, Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds (DVB-H) systems, Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting for Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (ISDB-T) systems, and so on. The WLAN systems may be IEEE 802.11 systems, Wi-Fi systems, and so on. These various systems are known in the art.
The frequency control techniques described herein may be used for systems with a single subcarrier as well as systems with multiple subcarriers. Multiple subcarriers may be obtained with OFDM, SC-FDMA, or some other modulation technique. OFDM and SC-FDMA partition a frequency band (e.g., the system bandwidth) into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also called tones, bins, and so on. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In general, modulation symbols are sent on the subcarriers in the frequency domain with OFDM and in the time domain with SC-FDMA. OFDM is used in various systems such as MediaFLO, DVB-H and ISDB-T broadcast systems, IEEE 802.11a/g WLAN systems, and some cellular systems. For clarity, the techniques are described below for a broadcast system that uses OFDM, e.g., a MediaFLO system.
At base station 110, a transmit (TX) data processor 120 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, and symbol maps) traffic data and generates data symbols. A pilot processor 122 generates pilot symbols. As used herein, a data symbol is a modulation symbol for data, a pilot symbol is a modulation symbol for pilot, and a modulation symbol is a complex value for a point in a signal constellation, e.g., for PSK or QAM. A modulator 130 multiplexes the data symbols and pilot symbols, performs OFDM modulation on the multiplexed data and pilot symbols, and generates OFDM symbols. A transmitter (TMTR) 132 processes (e.g., converts to analog, amplifies, filters, and frequency upconverts) the OFDM symbols and generates an RF modulated signal, which is transmitted via an antenna 134.
At terminal 150, an antenna 152 receives the RF modulated signal from base station 110 and provides a received RF signal to a receiver (RCVR) 160. Receiver 160 conditions (e.g., filters, amplifies, frequency downconverts, and digitizes) the received RF signal and provides received samples. A demodulator 170 performs OFDM demodulation on the received samples and provides data symbol estimates, which are estimates of the data symbols sent by base station 110. A receive (RX) data processor 172 processes (e.g., symbol demaps, deinterleaves, and decodes) the data symbol estimates and provides decoded data. In general, the processing at terminal 150 is complementary to the processing at base station 110.
Controllers/processors 140 and 180 direct the operation of various processing units at base station 110 and terminal 150, respectively. Memories 142 and 182 store program codes and data for base station 110 and terminal 150, respectively.
In the embodiment shown in
The overhead information may convey the identity of a base station transmitting the overhead information, where and how data channels are sent in the frames of a super-frame, and/or other information. The data channels are sent in the N frames and at frequency and time locations indicated by the overhead information. Each data channel may carry any type of data such as video, audio, tele-text, data, video/audio clips, and so on. Terminal 150 may be interested in receiving one or more specific data channels from base station 110. Terminal 150 may ascertain where each desired data channel is sent, e.g., based on the overhead information and/or the data sent on the data channel. Terminal 150 may go to sleep much of the time to conserve battery power and may wake up periodically to receive the desired data channel(s).
Each frame carries multiple (M) OFDM symbols. An OFDM symbol may be generated by (1) performing a K-point IFFT on K modulation symbols to obtain K time-domain samples for a data portion of the OFDM symbol and (2) copying the last C samples of the data portion to form a cyclic prefix for the OFDM symbol. The data portion is also referred to as a useful portion, a transformed symbol, and so on. Windowing/filtering may also be performed on the cyclic prefix and the data portion. An OFDM symbol may contain K+C samples without windowing or possibly more than K+C samples with windowing.
In an embodiment, K=4096, C=512, and each OFDM symbol contains 4608 time-domain samples prior to windowing. In an embodiment, L=128, S=36, and the TDM pilot contains 36 identical pilot sequences of length 128. Other values may also be used for K, C, L and S.
A reference oscillator (Ref Osc) 322 generates a reference signal having a precise frequency fref. Reference oscillator 322 may be a voltage controlled crystal oscillator (VCXO), a temperature compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO), a voltage controlled TCXO (VC-TCXO), a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), or some other type of oscillator. LO generator 324 receives the reference signal and generates the LO signal at the desired RF frequency. A clock generator 326 also receives the reference signal and generates a sampling clock for ADC 318. LO generator 324 and clock generator 326 may each be implemented with VCOs, phase locked loops (PLLs), dividers, and so on, as is known in the art.
Within demodulator 170, an automatic gain control (AGC) unit 330 multiplies the received samples r(k) with a variable gain Gagc and provides input samples x(k) having the desired magnitude. An AFC unit 340 estimates frequency error in the input samples, removes the estimated frequency error from the input samples, and provides output samples y(k) having the estimated frequency error removed. A fast Fourier transform (FFT) unit 350 performs a K-point FFT on K output samples for each received OFDM symbol and obtains K frequency-domain received symbols for the K subcarriers. FFT unit 350 provides received symbols for traffic data to a data detector 352 and provides received symbols for pilot to a channel estimator 354. Channel estimator 354 derives channel estimates for the wireless channel between base station 110 and terminal 150 based on the received symbols for pilot. Data detector 352 performs data detection (e.g., equalization or matched filtering) on the received symbols for traffic data with the channel estimates and provides data symbol estimates
An AGC controller 332 determines the magnitude of the received samples r(k) and provides the variable gain Gagc used by AGC unit 330 to obtain the desired magnitude for the input samples x(k). AGC controller 332 also provides one or more gain control signals to one or more circuit blocks (e.g., LNA 312, downconverter 314 and/or amplifier 316) within receiver 160. The gain control signal(s) maintain the magnitude of the received samples r(k) within a suitable range. An AFC controller 342 receives the output of AFC unit 340 and generates a frequency control signal for reference oscillator 322. A time tracking unit 344 detects for the start of a super-frame (e.g., based on the TDM pilot) and also determines the start of each received OFDM symbol.
A loop filter 440 filters the frequency error estimates Δ{circumflex over (f)}m and provides an average frequency error Δ{circumflex over (f)}err, which is indicative of the frequency error in the input samples. Within loop filter 440, a multiplier 442 multiplies the frequency error estimates Δ{circumflex over (f)}m with a loop gain α. A summer 444 sums the output of multiplier 442 with the output of a frequency register 448. Multiplexer 446 receives the output of summer 444 at another input and provides either the output of summer 444 or the initial frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}init. Frequency register 448 stores the output of multiplexer 446 and provides the average frequency error Δ{circumflex over (f)}err. Phase accumulator 412 accumulates the average frequency error in each sample period and provides the phase value for each input sample.
Phase rotator 410, frequency error estimator 430, loop filter 440, and phase accumulator 412 form an AFC loop that estimates and corrects frequency error in the input samples. In an embodiment, the AFC loop operates as follows. When the terminal first wakes up or first tunes to the broadcast system, estimator 420 derives an initial frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}init that captures much of the frequency error between the base station and the terminal. Frequency register 448 stores the initial frequency error estimate. Phase accumulator 412 computes the phase shift in each sample period due to the frequency error from register 448. Phase rotator 410 rotates each input sample by the phase shift from phase accumulator 412. Thereafter, for each received OFDM symbol, estimator 430 derives a frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}m based on the output samples for that OFDM symbol. The frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}m is scaled by the loop gain α and accumulated by frequency register 448 via summer 444 and multiplexer 446. Hence, frequency register 448 and the AFC loop are initialized with the initial frequency error estimate and are thereafter updated by the frequency error estimate from each received OFDM symbol.
In the embodiment described above, phase rotation is performed on each input sample, and the AFC loop is updated in each OFDM symbol period. The AFC loop may also be updated at other rates. In general, the AFC loop may be updated whenever a frequency error estimate is available. For example, the AFC loop may be updated after receiving an OFDM symbol, after receiving a burst of data, at the end of a frame, and so on. The AFC loop may also be operated in different modes, e.g., an acquisition mode and a tracking mode, as described below.
The input samples for the broadcast system may be expressed as:
x(k)=s(k)·ej2π·Δf·k·T
where s(k) is a sample transmitted in sample period k, x(k) is an input sample for sample period k, n(k) is the noise for input sample x(k), Δf is a frequency error, φ is an arbitrary phase, and Ts is one sample period.
The TDM pilot contains S identical pilot sequences, as shown in
x*(k)·x(k+L)=|s(k)|2·ej2π·Δf·L·T
where ñ(k) is the post-processed noise. Equation (2) indicates that the frequency error Δf may be isolated by correlating input sample x(k) with delayed input sample x(k+L).
A delayed correlation may be performed for each pilot sequence as follows:
where xl(i)=x(i+l·L+ks) is the i-th input sample for the l-th pilot sequence,
The correlation results for multiple pilot sequences may be accumulated, as follows:
where S′ is the number of delayed correlations performed, which is S′<S, and
An initial frequency error estimate may be derived based on the accumulated correlation result, as follows:
where GL is a detector gain, which is GL=2π·L·Ts.
The start of the first pilot sequence may be ascertained by performing a sliding correlation on the input samples and detecting for a peak in the sliding correlation. The input samples may be buffered in sample buffer 408, and the delayed correlation in equation (3) may be performed for all pilot sequences after the TDM pilot has been detected. Alternatively, the TDM pilot may be detected using some of the pilot sequences, and the initial frequency error estimate may be derived using the remaining pilot sequences.
An accumulator 530, which is formed with a summer 532 and a register 534, accumulates the correlation results from delayed correlator 510 for all pilot sequences and provides the accumulated result Cinit. An arctan unit 540 computes the arctangent of Cinit. A scaling unit 542 scales the output of arctan unit 540 and provides the initial frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}init.
In an embodiment, the arctangent in equation (5) is computed using two look-up tables. Once look-up table is used to efficiently compute the ratio WQ/WI in equation (5), and another look-up table is used to compute the arctangent.
The Sign bit indicates whether or not to invert the output depending on the quadrant within which Cinit falls.
A unit 616a receives the real part WI and provides the magnitude of WI, which is V1=Abs {WI}, where Abs { } denotes the absolute of the quantity within { }. A unit 616b receives the imaginary part WQ and provides the magnitude of WQ, which is VQ=Abs {WQ}. A mapper 618 maps VI and VQ to a numerator N and a denominator D, as follows:
If (VI≧VQ) then set N=VQ, D=VI, and Flip=0; else set N=VI, D=VQ, and Flip=1. Eq (7)
The mapping in equation (7) moves the larger of VI and VQ to the denominator, which results in the ratio N/D being less than or equal to 1.0, or (N/D)≦1.0. The arctangent of N/D is then limited to a range of 0 to 45°, which allows for use of a smaller arctan look-up table.
A normalize unit 620 shifts the denominator D to the right so that the most significant bit (MSB) is ‘1’ and provides a normalized denominator D′. Unit 620 also shifts the numerator N by the same number of bits as the denominator and provides a normalized numerator N′. An inverse look-up table (LUT) 622 receives D′ and provides 1/D′. A multiplier 624 multiplies N′ with 1/D′ and provides the ratio N′/D′.
An arctan look-up table 626 receives the ratio N′/D′ and provides the arctangent of N′/ID′, orθ=arctan(N′/D′), where 0°≦θ≦45° due to the conditioning described above. A multiplexer (MUX) 630 provides θ if the Flip bit indicates that VI and VQ have not been flipped by mapper 618 and provides 90°-θ, which is generated by a unit 628, if VI and VQ have been flipped. An inverter 632 inverts the output of multiplexer 630. A multiplexer 634 provides the output of multiplexer 630 as the detected phase θinit if the Sign bit indicates no inversion and provides the output of inverter 632 otherwise.
The terminal may receive the RF modulated signal from the base station via one or more signal paths. For each OFDM symbol sent by the base station, the terminal obtains a copy of the OFDM symbol via each signal path. Each OFDM symbol copy is scaled by the complex gain for the associated signal path and is further delayed by the propagation delay for that signal path.
Time tracking unit 344 in
As shown in
A frequency error estimate may be computed for each received OFDM symbol based on the cyclic prefix, as follows:
where ym(i) is the i-th output sample for the m-th OFDM symbol,
The delayed correlation in equation (8) is performed over C′ samples, where C′≦C. In general, the delayed correlation may be performed over all or a subset of the C samples for the cyclic prefix. In one embodiment, the delayed correlation is performed over all samples within the correlation window. In the embodiment shown in
In yet another embodiment, the samples used for frequency error estimation are selected as follows:
If 1≦FFT_Start≦C/2, use samples C/2+1 to C;
If C/2≦FFT_Start≦3C/4, use samples 3C/4+1 to C; and Eq (9)
If 3C/4<FFT_Start≦C, use no samples.
In the embodiment shown in equation (9), a frequency error estimate is derived based on (1) the second half of the cyclic prefix if the FFT Start pointer falls within the first half of the cyclic prefix or (2) the last quarter of the cyclic prefix if the FFT Start pointer falls within the third quarter of the cyclic prefix. A frequency error estimate is not derived if the FFT Start pointer falls within the last quarter of the cyclic prefix.
The samples may also be selected for use for frequency error estimation based on the timing of the received OFDM symbol in other manners.
Referring back to
Within phase rotator 410, a cos/sin look-up table 922 receives the phase value θk from phase accumulator 412 and provides the cosine and sine of θk. A complex multiplier 924 multiplies each input sample x(k) with the sine and cosine and provides a phase-rotated output sample y(k), which may be given as:
yI(k)+j yQ(k)=[xI(k)+j xQ(k)]·[cos θk+j sin θk], Eq (10)
where x(k)=x, (k)+j xQ(k) is a complex-valued input sample for sample period k, and
Referring back to
In an embodiment, the AFC loop may be operated in an acquisition mode or a tracking mode. Different parameter values may be used for the AFC loop in the two modes. A larger loop gain α may be used for the acquisition mode, and a smaller loop gain may be used for the tracking mode. The frequency error estimate Δ{circumflex over (f)}m may also be limited to within a larger range for the acquisition mode and to within a smaller range for the tracking mode. The acquisition and tracking modes may also be implemented in other manners. The terminal may support different and/or additional modes. For example, the terminal may also support a hold mode in which the AFC loop is maintained fixed, e.g., if the received signal quality is poor or if some other conditions are detected.
The terminal may start in the acquisition mode when powered on, after waking up from an extended sleep, when frequency lock is lost, and/or for other conditions. The terminal may transition from the acquisition mode to the tracking mode upon detecting frequency lock, or if the adjustment applied to frequency register 448 is below a particular value for some number of updates, or if some other conditions are satisfied.
The terminal may periodically receive data from the broadcast system. For example, each frame may carry many OFDM symbols (e.g., approximately 300 OFDM symbols), and the terminal may receive only few OFDM symbols (if any) in each frame. In this case, the terminal may sleep for most of the frame, wake up several OFDM symbols prior to the first OFDM symbol of interest, and process each OFDM symbol of interest. The terminal may update the AFC loop in each OFDM symbol period while awake and may hold the AFC loop while asleep.
In the embodiment shown in
The bandwidth of the AFC loop may be expressed as:
The AFC loop bandwidth may be selected to achieve the desired frequency acquisition and tracking performance. The desired AFC loop bandwidth may be obtained by selecting the proper value for the loop gain α.
For clarity, the AFC loop has been described for a specific broadcast system. Other designs may also be used for the AFC loop. In general, the AFC loop may be designed in accordance with the structure of the signal transmitted by the system and the radio technology used by the system.
Referring back to
The pilot may comprise multiple pilot sequences. The initial frequency error estimate may then be derived by performing delayed correlation on the pilot sequences. The frequency error estimate for each received OFDM symbol may be derived by performing delayed correlation between samples for the cyclic prefix and samples for the data portion of the received OFDM symbol. Frequency error in input samples is corrected by the AFC loop with the initial frequency error estimate as well as the frequency error estimate for each received OFDM symbol.
The frequency control techniques described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processing units used for frequency control may be implemented within one or more ASICs, DSPs, digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, electronic devices, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.
For a firmware and/or software implementation, the techniques may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The firmware and/or software codes may be stored in a memory (e.g., memory 182 in
The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
The present application claims priority to provisional U.S. Application Ser. No. 60/660,914, entitled “Automatic Frequency Controller,” filed Mar. 11, 2005, assigned to the assignee hereof and incorporated herein by reference.
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