Statistical covariance-matching based blind channel estimation for zero-padding MIMO-OFDM systems

We propose a statistical covariance-matching based blind channel estimation scheme for zero-padding (ZP) MIMO-OFDM systems. By exploiting the block Toeplitz channel matrix structure, it is shown that the linear equations relating the entries of the received covariance matrix and the outer product of the MIMO channel matrix taps can be rearranged into a set of decoupled groups. The decoupled nature reduces computations, and more importantly guarantees unique recovery of the channel matrix outer product under a quite mild condition. Then the channel impulse response matrix is identified, up to a Hermitian matrix ambiguity, through an eigen-decomposition of the outer product matrix. Simulation results are used to evidence the advantages of the proposed method over a recently reported subspace algorithm applicable to the ZP-based MIMO-OFDM scheme.