Cyclostationarity-based classification of OFDM waveforms over photonic-assisted wireless links

Abstract

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is employed extensively in wireless communication networks to reduce receiver side computational complexity, improve tolerance to fading, improve spectral efficiency, and ease synchronization; it is also being considered for 5G systems. Traditionally, communication links operate with shared knowledge of modulation parameters, here we focus on developing a smart receiver that can identify and demodulate OFDM signals without a priori knowledge. Motivation for autonomous receivers lies in network monitoring and diagnostics and recovery from failures. Photonic-assisted wireless links exploit the low-loss characteristics of optical fiber and high-bandwidth photonic components to offer multi-octave, flexible signal generation and transport with large available instantaneous bandwidths. These characteristics synergize well with the flexibility of OFDM waveform design.