A symbol rate estimation algorithm based on Morlet wavelet transform and autocorrelation

For modulation recognition and demodulation of non-cooperative digital signals, the symbol rate is an unknown but important parameter. After an investigation of present methods in this active research area, this paper proposes a new symbol rate estimation algorithm, namely “MORAL”, based on Morlet wavelet transform and autocorrelation, in which the time-frequency features of Phase Shift Keying (PSK) signals are utilized. Simulation results show that, comparing with the traditional methods for symbol rate estimation, this new algorithm has higher estimation precision, is more robust against Doppler frequency spread and estimation error of carrier frequency, approaching more closely to Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB).