In orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) digital communication systems, an uncorrected frequency offset can lead to a severe degradation of the system performance. The paper describes a technique to mitigate the influence of frequency offset on system performance by applying a weighted discrete Fourier transform (DFT) to a novel OFDM frequency-assignment scheme in which null carriers are regularly inserted among modulated data carriers. This frequency-assignment scheme makes possible the application of a window function at the demodulator to broaden the signal spectrum and renders the demodulated signal more immune to the influence of frequency offset. In addition, a variant of this frequency-assignment scheme also leads to a DFT-based measurement technique for easy and accurate determination of the frequency offset. Interpolation algorithms and frequency-assignment schemes suitable for both initial frequency acquisition and subsequent frequency tracking are described in detail. The Rife and Vincent (Class-I) windows (see Rife, D.C. and Vincent, G.A., Bell Syst. Tech. J., vol.49, p.197-228, 1976) are examined and their estimation results are obtained for an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and a multipath fading channel.
