BreezeACCESS OFDM

Product Introduction
 What is OFDM?
OFDM - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. A
technology that provides:
• High data rate
• High spectral efficiency
• High multi-path resistance

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 OFDM Overview
Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing

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 High Speed Digital Communication –
the curse of Multipath
• The traditional way of sending information is serially
• This type of communication in wireless
communication systems is affected by Multipath

time

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 Multipath
Multipath
Multipath
Transmitter

Receiver

time frequency
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 Effect of Multi-path:
Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI)
• Each bit becomes distorted by echoes
• The symbols disturb each other

Sent data

Data and the echoes

Resulting waveform
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 A Solution – Longer Symbols

Sent signal

Received signal
•Only the edges are corrupted
•But.. Longer symbols mean less symbols per second

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 Frequency Division Multiplexing

• Long symbols => low data rate

• FDM – Multiplexing by sending data in a few carriers
(each in a different frequency) in parallel.
• Bit rate = number of carriers * bit rate of each carrier

Sent signal

Received signal
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 The Guard Band Issue

• A signal carrier looks like this:

• A guard band is needed between carriers to prevent

mutual interference

A
Guard Band Guard Band

F
FDM Channel Width
• Conclusion - Using simple FDM will give very low
spectral efficiency

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 OFDM – The innovation
• OFDM = Orthogonal FDM
• Carrier centers are put on orthogonal frequencies
• ORTOGONALITY - The peak of each signal coincides with
nulls of other signals
• The result => high spectral efficiency

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OFDM Channel Width
 Guard time and Multipath
• The Multipath corrupts the Guard Interval
• The demodulated region (data period) remains undistorted

symbol
GI Data period

Sent signal

11 Received signal
 OFDM – Summary
The OFDM idea:
• Multi-Carrier transmission of data
• Orthogonal carrier frequencies
• The OFDM result:
• High data rates
• Orthogonal FDM => High Spectral Efficiency
• Low Symbol Rate => Long Symbols => High Multi-Path
Resistance

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