Patent Abstract:
A technique includes basing a discrete frequency transformation on the number of subcarriers in a predetermined set of subcarriers. One or more subcarriers of the set are assigned to modulate data, and the remaining subcarriers of the set are not assigned to modulate the data. The discrete frequency transformation is performed on the data to modulate the data, and mathematical operations that are associated with the subcarriers not assigned to modulate the data are excluded from the transformation.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND 
   The invention generally relates to a technique for continuous modulation of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signals. 
   Many recent implementations of digital wireless communication systems (wireless or cable-based systems, for example) use Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for environments where there is strong interference or multipath reflections. However, one disadvantage of using OFDM is the use of a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and an inverse FFT (IFFT) in the demodulator (for an OFDM transmitter) and modulator (for an OFDM receiver), respectively. In this manner, as described below, the calculation of the FFT and inverse FFT may add a considerable amount of complexity to OFDM transmitter/receiver due to the large processing block that is required on each end of the communication link. 
   For purposes of maximizing statistical multiplexing gain, many communication systems assign subsets of OFDM subcarriers to individual users, terminals or electrical devices in both the upstream and downstream directions. In this manner, the data associated with a particular user, terminal or electrical device is modulated via the associated subset of OFDM subcarriers. The resultant OFDM modulated signal is then modulated via an RF carrier signal, and the resultant signal is transmitted over a wireless link. This OFDMA modulation technique is commonly called OFDMA for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access. 
   The IFFT is an N point operation, i.e., the IFFT is based on a set of N subcarriers. In this manner, for the OFDM transmitter, the data that is assigned to a particular subset of these subcarriers forms an IFFT input data vector that is processed via the IFFT to produce a digital signal. This signal represents the modulation of the data with the subset of subcarriers. The IFFT involves numerous mathematical operations (accumulate and multiply operations, for example) and requires an input data vector of N coefficients. 
   It is possible that some of the OFDM subcarriers may not be assigned to a particular transmitter. As a result, the block computation of the IFFT for OFDM modulation may involve using zeros for the N coefficients (of the IFFT input data vector) that are associated with the unassigned subcarriers. As a result of the use of these zero value coefficients, many zero result mathematical operations in the IFFT are performed, thereby resulting in inefficient computation of the IFFT. 
   Thus, there is a continuing need for an arrangement or technique to address one or more of the problems that are stated above. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an OFDMA transmitter according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an illustration of the generation of an OFDM symbol according to the prior art. 
       FIG. 3  is a signal flow diagram for computation of an inverse Radix-two IFFT according to the prior art. 
       FIG. 4  is a signal flow diagram for the computation of an IDFT according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a flow diagram depicting a modulation technique according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a table depicting a comparison of the modulation technique of the present invention and a modulation technique of the prior art. 
       FIGS. 7 and 9  are waveforms depicting real and imaginary components of OFDM subcarriers according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 8  is a flow diagram depicting a technique to generate an OFDM guard interval according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 10  is a flow diagram depicting a technique to generate a cyclic prefix according to an embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , an embodiment 10 of an OFDMA transmitter in accordance with the invention receives data to be transmitted over a communication link, such as a cable-based or wireless link, as examples. As an example, referring also to  FIG. 11 , the transmitter  10  may be used as part of a receiver  204 /transmitter  10  pair  209  (two shown in  FIG. 11 , as an example) in a wireless communication system  200 , such as a wireless local area network (LAN), for example. 
   As part of the wireless communication system  200 , the transmitter  10  is assigned a subset of OFDM subcarriers for use in transmitting the data over a wireless link  203  to other wireless devices  205 . In this manner, the assigned subset of OFDM subcarriers may be used to communicate data associated with a particular user, terminal or electrical device  210  that is coupled to the pair  209  for purposes of communicating over the wireless link  203 . 
   Referring to  FIG. 1 , during its course of operation, an encoder  12  of the transmitter  10  receives data (via communication lines  11 ) to be transmitted over the wireless link  203  ( FIG. 11 ), and this data is updated at a predefined sampling rate. The encoder  12  may, for example, introduce an error correcting scheme into the data. The encoder  12  may also perform other operations on the received data, such as a mapping operation, for example. More specifically, the encoder  12  may map the data received by the encoder  12  into a complex value space using quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). Other and different operations by the encoder  12  are possible. 
   The encoder  12  provides the encoded data (via communication lines  13 ) to an Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) engine  14  of the transmitter  10 . The IDFT engine  14  includes a processor  31  that executes instructions  33  that, in turn, are stored in a memory  35  of the IDFT engine  14 . The encoded data may be viewed as being divided into segments, with each segment representing a coefficient that is associated with one of the assigned subcarriers. 
   As described below, the IDFT engine  14  modulates these coefficients with the assigned subcarriers to produce a time-varying digital signal. This digital signal, in turn, is communicated (via communication lines  19 ) to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)  20  that converts the digital signal into an analog signal. Analog transmission circuitry  23  subsequently modulates this analog signal with at least one radio frequency (RF) carrier signal and transmits the resultant RF signal by driving an antenna  44  in response to the RF signal. 
   The digital signal that is produced by the IDFT engine  14  forms the information for OFDM symbols that are indicated by the signal that is transmitted by the antenna  44 . In this manner, each basic OFDM symbol is formed from an N point IDFT and has a duration that is equal to a periodic rate at which the OFDM symbols are generated. When viewed in the frequency domain, each basic OFDM symbol includes sinc functions that are located at the frequencies of the OFDM subcarriers. 
   Because the transmitted OFDM symbols may travel along different paths, interference may occur between symbols that are transmitted at different times. This interference, in turn, may degrade the orthogonality of the OFDM modulation and as a result, may prevent full recovery of the transmitted data. To prevent this interference, the IDFT engine  14  extends the length of the basic OFDM symbol by a guard interval, an extension that extends the current OFDM symbol&#39;s transmission beyond the time when a reflected previously transmitted OFDM symbol would interfere. The generation of the guard interval is discussed below. 
   The IDFT engine  14  differs from its inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) counterpart that is found in a conventional OFDMA transmitter. In this manner, a conventional OFDM transmitter uses the IFFT to calculate the IDFT, as for certain conditions the IFFT uses symmetry to reduce the number of required mathematical operations to compute the IDFT. The IFFT requires, however, an IFFT input data vector that contains coefficients for all of the OFDM subcarriers, regardless if fewer than all of the subcarriers are assigned for purposes of modulation by the transmitter  10 . The traditional OFDM transmitter accommodates this scenario by using zero values in the IFFT input data vector for the coefficients that are associated with unassigned subcarriers. However, this conventional technique requires that mathematical operations (multiplication and accumulation operations, for example) still have to be performed in connection with these non-assigned subcarriers, resulting in numerous zero result computations and inefficient modulation. 
   In contrast to a conventional OFDMA transmitter, the transmitter  10  uses the IDFT engine  14  that, in its computation of the IDFT, only performs mathematical operations that are associated with assigned subcarriers and does not perform such mathematical operations that are associated with unassigned subcarriers. Thus, the IDFT engine  14  performs continuous OFDM modulation. 
   To further illustrate this difference,  FIG. 2  depicts the generation of an OFDM symbol  50  using the conventional IFFT technique. As shown, in the prior art, data  62  for assigned subcarriers is passed into an IFFT engine  56  that generates a cyclic prefix  52  as well as the basic OFDM symbol  54 . The duration of the basic OFDM symbol  54  defines the period of OFDM signal generation. Zero value data  60  for unassigned subcarriers completes the IFFT input vector for the IFFT engine  56 . 
   The event of the mathematical operations that are performed in conventional OFDMA transmitters because of the processing of zero value coefficients for the non-assigned subcarriers becomes apparent when a signal flow diagram of the IFFT is examined. For example,  FIG. 3  depicts a signal flow diagram for the computation of an inverse radix-two IFFT. As shown, for an eight-point IFFT, three stages  82 ,  84  and  86  are required to compute the IFFT. Additional stages must be added to compute a larger IFFT. As depicted in  FIG. 3 , each discrete output value from the last stage  86  depends on every input coefficient. Thus, introducing a zero value for one of the input coefficients produces a significant number of mathematical operations that produce a value of zero. 
   In contrast to the conventional OFDMA transmitter, the transmitter  10  includes the IDFT engine  14  that calculates discrete time values (called x n ) pursuant to the following expression: 
                 x   n     =       ∑     f   =   0       N   -   1       ⁢       X   f     ·     ⅇ       -   j2π     ⁢           ⁢   f   ⁢           ⁢     n   /   N               ,           Equation   ⁢           ⁢   1             
 
where “f” is an integer representing a discrete subcarrier frequency index (and thus, each different value for “f” references a different subcarrier); “N” represents the length of the IDFT and the number of subcarriers; and “X f ” represents the coefficients (of the IDFT input vector) to be modulated. The expression “e −2πfn/N ” represents a complex exponential value that is associated with a particular subcarrier, as selected by the “f” index. Thus, the coefficient “X 1 ,” for example, is associated with a subcarrier that is referenced by a “1” for the “f” index.
 
   Using Equation 1, the IDFT engine  14  calculates each x n  discrete value by performing mathematical operations (multiply and accumulate operations, for example) only with the X f  coefficients components that are associated with assigned subcarriers. Referring to  FIG. 4 , in this manner, to compute the IDFT for a particular x n  value, a maximum of N multiply operations  92  are needed, and the results of the operations  92  are accumulated as indicated by reference numeral  94 . However, the IDFT engine  14  selectively performs these multiply operations  92 , as the operations  92  that are associated with non-assigned subcarriers are skipped. 
   For example, if the subcarrier that is associated with a “f” index of “1” is not assigned, then the IDFT engine  14  does not perform the multiply operation  92   a  in the calculation of any of the x n  values. Not only are “n” multiply operations not performed for this example, accumulate operations to accumulate zero value multiplication results are also not performed, thereby resulting in more efficient modulation. 
   Thus, the IDFT engine  14  may, in some embodiments of the invention, use a technique  100  that is depicted in  FIG. 5  for the calculation of each x n  value. To perform the technique  100 , as well as other techniques described herein, the processor  31  of the IDFT engine  14  may execute the instructions  33  (see  FIG. 1 ) that are stored in the memory  35 . In the technique  100 , the IDFT engine  14  initializes (block  101 ) the “f” index to zero and determines (block  102 ) the subcarriers that have been assigned to the transmitter  10  for purposes of modulating data that is received by the transmitter  10 . In this manner, the transmitter  10  is assigned a subset of the OFDM subcarriers that are available for communication over the wireless link  203  (see  FIG. 11 ), and this subset may be dynamically reassigned. The IDFT engine  14  may receive an indication of the current assigned subset via communication lines  243  (see  FIG. 1 ) that are coupled to the OFDM receiver  204  (part of the OFDM receiver transmitter pair  209 ) that decodes received information indicating reallocation of the subcarriers. 
   Subsequently, in the technique  100 , the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  104 ) whether the subcarrier that is associated with the current value of the “f” index is assigned. If not, then control transfers to block  110  where the “f” frequency index is incremented by one. If the subcarrier that is associated with the current value of the “f” index is assigned, then the IDFT engine  14  calculates (block  106 ) the next component of the x n  value by multiplying the complex exponential (see Eq. 1) that is indexed by the “f” index with the appropriate coefficient. Subsequently, the IDFT engine  14  adds (block  108 ) this component of the x n  value to the other computed components, and control returns to block  110  where the “f” frequency index is incremented by one. 
   Next, the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  111 ) by examining the value of the “f” frequency index whether all components of the IDFT have been calculated. If not, control returns to diamond  104 . Otherwise, the IDFT engine  14  terminates the routine  100 , as the value of a particular x n  value has been computed. Thus, the IDFT engine  14  uses the technique  100  to calculate each x n  value. 
   As an example, a table  112  in  FIG. 6  depicts a comparison of the technique  100  used by the IDFT engine  14  with Radix-2 IFFT computations. In particular, the entries in column  113  are different numbers of available OFDM subcarriers (assigned and unassigned); the entries in column  114  are the numbers of computations required by the Radix-2 IFFT computations for the different available OFDM subcarriers; and the entries of column  116  define points where the calculations of the IDFT engine  14  are more efficient than the calculations of the Radix-2 IFFT. In this manner, for the case where the number of assigned subcarriers (column  113 ) does not exceed the values indicated in column  116 , the technique provided by the IDFT engine  14  provides a computational benefit over the conventional IFFT-based modulation. 
   For example, if the total number of available subcarriers is sixty four (row  3  of table  112 ), then as long as six or less subcarriers are assigned, the IDFT engine  14  is computationally more efficient than an engine that uses Radix-2 IFFT computations. 
   Cyclic extensions of OFDM symbols are commonly used to provide guard intervals to combat channel multipath effects. The guard interval for a particular OFDM symbol may be inserted ahead of (called a cyclic prefix) or behind (called a cyclic extension) the basic OFDM symbol. However, regardless of whether a cyclic prefix or extension is added, either scheme may be simplified using the technique used by the IDFT engine  14 , as described below. 
   For example, in some embodiments of the invention, the IDFT engine  14  creates a cyclic extension by generating x n  discrete values for values of “n” that exceed “N.” In other words, the symbol generation extends beyond the period that is defined by the rate at which the basic OFDM symbols (without guard intervals) are generated. 
   For example,  FIG. 7  depicts a real component  120  and an imaginary component  122  of one subcarrier and a real component  124  and an imaginary component  126  of another subcarrier. Initially, the phases of these subcarriers are aligned, and when “n” is equal to “N” (two hundred seventy five, for example), as indicated by the vertical line  125 , the interval in which the basic OFDM symbol is generated has elapsed. However, as shown, the IDFT engine  14  continues the IDFT beyond that interval to generate the cyclic extension. 
   Thus, in some embodiments of the invention, the IDFT engine  14  may use a technique  130  (see  FIG. 8 ) to generate the x n  values and generate the cyclic extension. In this manner, in the technique  130 , the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  132 ) whether “n” is equal to “N.” If so, the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  134 ) whether a cyclic extension is to be generated, and if so, the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  135 ) whether “n” is equal to “M,” an index used to indicate the end of the cyclic extension. 
   If “n” is less than “N” for the case where no cyclic extension is to be generated or “n” is less than “M” for the case where a cyclic extension is to be generated, then the IDFT engine  14  proceeds to block  136 . Otherwise, all of the x n  values for the current OFDM symbol have been generated, and the technique  130  is terminated. In block  136 , the IDFT engine  14  computes the x n  value in accordance with the technique  100  described above. Next, the IDFT engine  14  increments (block  138 ) “n” by one and control returns to diamond  132 . 
     FIG. 9  depicts a scenario in which the IDFT engine  14  appends a cyclic prefix to the basic OFDM symbol. In this manner,  FIG. 9  depicts a real component  151  and an imaginary component  152  of one subcarrier and a real component  154  and an imaginary component  156  of another subcarrier. The phases of the subcarriers are aligned beginning with “n” being equal to approximately twenty five (for this example), as indicated by a vertical line  150 . Thus, from the time from when “n=0” to when “n=25,” the IDFT engine  14  generates a cyclic prefix. 
   In some embodiments of the invention, the IDFT engine  14  generates the cyclic prefix by rotating the frequencies of the subcarriers. For example, if the cyclic prefix is ten percent of the length of the OFDM generation interval, then the IDFT engine  14  selectively pre-rotates the phase of each subcarrier by −2π·0.1·n·f radians, where “f” is the frequency index defined above and “n” is an integer. 
   Thus, to generate the cyclic prefix, in some embodiments of the invention, the IDFT engine  14  performs a technique  170  that is depicted in  FIG. 10 . In the technique  170 , the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  172 ) whether a cyclic prefix is to be generated. If so, then the IDFT engine  14  determines (diamond  174 ) the needed rotation of the subcarrier frequencies and then subsequently rotates (block  175 ) the subcarrier frequencies by the determined amount. 
   In some embodiments of the invention, the IDFT engine  14  may also perform symbol shaping to reduce sidelobes in the frequency domain. Conventional transmitters may perform such symbol shaping by applying a weighting function (a Raised-Cosine function) in the time domain. However, instead of applying a weighting function in the time domain, the IDFT engine  14  may, in some embodiments of the invention, apply the weighting function in the frequency domain due to the commutativity of the multiplication operations used by the IDFT engine  14 . In this manner, as described above, for each x n  value, the IDFT described above multiplies a coefficient that is associated with a particular subcarrier frequency with a complex exponential function that is associated with the subcarrier frequency. Thus, to apply a weighting function, each coefficient may be scaled according to the weighting function to apply the weighting function in the frequency domain. 
   Alternatively, the weighting function may be applied in the time domain before the IDFT, thereby providing another advantage to the technique that is described herein. 
   Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, although an IDFT is described for purposes of modulation, a DFT instead of the IDFT may be used for modulation using the zero data skipping technique that is described above. In this manner, for these embodiments, the receiver that receives the OFDM symbols uses an IDFT engine for purposes of demodulation. Thus, the term “discrete frequency transformation,” as used in the context of this application, may mean either a discrete frequency transformation or an inverse discrete frequency transformation. 
   While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 7