Complexity Effective Sampling Frequency Offset Estimation Method for OFDM-Based HomePlug Green PHY Systems

Abstract

The HomePlug Green PHY (HomePlug GP) specification provides an attractive solution to enable smart grid power line communication (PLC) applications by using robust orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (ROBO) mode. This paper proposes a computationally efficient sampling frequency offset (SFO) estimation technique in the HomePlug GP system without relying on pilot symbols. For this purpose, the proposed estimation scheme utilizes the redundant information contained within the repeat coding in the HomePlug GP ROBO mode, thus eliminating the need of dedicated pilots. Computer simulations are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed SFO estimation scheme and to compare it with the conventional decision-directed (DD) estimation schemes. Simulations indicate that the repeat coded ROBO signals are effectively used for the proposed estimation scheme, which provides an affordable estimation accuracy while reducing the complexity compared to the conventional DD estimation schemes.