Solutions for Creating and Analyzing Custom OFDM Waveforms for Software-Defined Radio (SDR)
Application Notes
Many of today’s commercial wireless standards are based on a highly versatile transmission scheme: orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). Additionally, a method to enable multiple users on the same OFDM spectral channel is employed called orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA). Examples include 802.11a/g/n, 802.11ac/ad, 802.16e WiMAX, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE and LTE-Advanced.
OFDM and OFDMA technologies provide important advantages in four areas: data throughput, spectral efficiency and scalability, data integrity, and waveform robustness in the presence of multipath fading. In addition, both technologies have the potential to be customized to suit the needs of proprietary applications.
For these reasons and more, OFDM and OFDMA are viewed as viable technologies for the development of communications systems including software-defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio. The more successfully these technologies can be deployed, the easier it will be to achieve seamless communication and coordination between diverse public-safety agencies or military forces.