TABLE OF CONTENTS In this chapter we review the basic principles of single antenna multicarrier (MC) systems, considering both single user as well as multiuser systems. This chapter will be propaedeutic for the ensuing chapters, where we will address the multiple antenna MC case. We will devote special attention to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), whose success is testified by its being chosen as the standard radio interface for digital audio broadcasting (DAB), terrestrial digital video broadcasting (DVB), wireless local area networks (LANs), and wireless metropolitan area networks (MANs). OFDM is also under consideration for the fourth generation cellular systems. The primary reason why OFDM and, more generally, MC systems are becoming so popular is that they lead to a very simple receiver structure for broadband transmissions, with good performance. An excellent introductory tutorial on MC modulation is [1]. A more detailed description of systems employing MC modulation is given in [2], [3].
In this chapter, we review first, in Section 3.2, the basic principles underlying block transmission systems, as opposed to serial schemes. Then, we will concentrate on OFDM systems in Section 3.3, where we will show how the combination of OFDM with forward error correction coding creates indeed a simple, yet powerful tool to tackle, at the same time, channel equalization and error correction. We will then provide the criteria to design the main parameters of an OFDM system in Section 3.4. We will consider the channel estimation and the synchronization problems in Sections 3.5 and 3.6, respectively. Multiuser...
