Efficient Decision-Directed Channel Estimation in SFBC-OFDM Systems

A channel estimation algorithm for space-frequency-block-coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (SFBC-OFDM) systems employing multilevel quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) is presented, which is based on decoupling of different transmitter’s effect and independent least-squares (LS) estimation of subcarrier channel coefficients. It can be used in fast fading environments for decision-directed channel estimation. The proposed algorithm has improved accuracy and lower complexity than the existing algorithm using the same decoupling processing.