An efficient and hybrid timing offset estimation approach for universal-filtered multi-carrier based systems over multipath Rayleigh fading channel

For next generation (i.e., 5G) wireless communication, universal-filtered multi-carrier (UFMC) is a novel multi-carrier modulation technique, which is suitable for short packet and low latency transmissions. Although UFMC has lower sensitivity to synchronization errors compared with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), synchronization is still an important and open problem for UFMC-based systems. In this paper, in order to efficiently address the timing offset (TO) estimation issue of UFMCbased systems over multipath fading channels, a new preamble structure containing the pseudo-random noise (PN) sequences is devised in this paper. And that a robust and hybrid TO estimation approach is also proposed. This approach primarily consists of two steps. According to the devised preamble pattern, an improved timing metric is firstly developed for estimating the symbol TO coarsely. Moreover, a fine timing adjustable range is also offered. Secondly, the accurate estimation of the residual symbol TO is achieved within this adjustable range by utilizing both the threshold criterion and the cross-correlation operation between received signals and the local PN sequence. Finally, numerical simulations and comparisons are presented to confirm the practicability of the proposed algorithm under the condition of Rayleigh fading channels. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.