Packet detection and symbol timing synchronization algorithm for multi-band OFDM UWB

In this letter, we propose a novel packet detection and symbol timing synchronization algorithm for MB-OFDM UWB system over multi-path channel. To find more reliable and exact symbol timing, we utilize the merits of the auto- and cross-correlation at the same time. The auto-correlator can gather the energy of the received signal which is distorted by multipath fading. And, the cross-correlator can estimate symbol timing to sample level precision. We define the detection and symbol timing metric as the moving sum of autocorrelation of the pre-computed cross-correlated signals over zero pad duration. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can detect the presence of a signal with less than -4 dB SNR and find DFT window with at most 0.1 dB SNR reduction upon the receipt of two symbols.