EUROCON 2005 Serbia & Montenegro, Belgrade, November 22-24, 2005

Design and Implementation of an OFDM

Transceiver Framework Using Matlab and the
TMS320C67 13 DSK

Sotiris H. Karabetsos, Student Member, IEEE, Pantelis D. Stavrou, Evagelos K. Pikasis and
Athanase A. Nassiopoulos

Abstract - This paper details on the employment of DAm

modern, computer-based development tools for the
achievement of full real-life experimental frameworks for kupzt 4D
educational or research purposes. This is achieved through _eDLdd ei &TL
the study, design, implementation and presentation of some
initial results, of an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division I I
Multiplexing) transceiver. The design and implementation is ua io2nd a an d

done using the TMS320C6713 DSK development kit from

"Texas Instruments Inc", in conjunction with Matlab- as to m i widt
vi

Simulink from "Mathworks Inc.". This procedure can easily

be adopted for the development of several other systems at
the domain of communications and signal processing.

Keywords - Computer-based tools, Communications,

Experimental framework, OFDM, Signal Processing.
or teaching state of the art systems, combining computer
simulation and at-hand demonstration using real-life
I. INTRODUCTION
laboratory equipment.
T HE study, design and prototyping of contemporary To apply the above ideas, this paper demonstrates the
signal processing systems involves several and often system level design, simulation and implementation of a

very complicated tasks that have to be solved. baseband OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division
Specifically, definition of specifications and requirements, Multiplexing) transceiver. That is, the implementation of
algorithmic design, system level design, simulation, discrete transmitter and receiver that can be evaluated by
implementation and finally verification are some of the means of simulation and real-life experimentation.
steps that have to be followed [ 1 ] [2]. Consequently, Additionally, OFDM was chosen as ageneralized concept
besides research purposes, this methodology also have to of basic modulation schemes having wide range of
a

be entailed in the educational process so as students to be applications.

able to appreciate the whole concept, besides only Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)
studying the fundamental principles. This can be is based on the idea of separating fast rate data stream a

approached with the aid of modem computer-based design into a slower parallel one, in order to increase the symbol
and development tools such as Matlab IDE and Code duration and eliminate ISI, possible. OFDM is both as a

Composer Studio IDE, which are already widely spread in special case of multicarrier modulation scheme and a

multiplexing technique as well [3] [4]. In OFDM, the data

This work is co-funded by 75% from E.E. and 25% from the Greek stream modulates a set of orthogonal carriers (one carrier
Government under the framework of the Education and Initial Vocational does not interfere with the other) and the whole group is
Training Program - Archimedes. sent to the channel (frequency division multiplex).
S. H. Karabetsos is with the Department of Electronics Engineering,,
RDTL, Technological Educational Institution of Athens (TEI), Greece Usually, the data stream consists of appropriate In-Phase

(phone: 0030-210-5385383; fax: 0030-210-5385304; e-mail: and Quadrature values based on QAM constellations. The
nassiopgteiath.gr). basic blocks that constitute the fundamental principles
P. D. Stavrou is with the Department of Electronics Engineering,,
behind baseband OFDM shown in Fig. 1. More details
RDTL, Technological Educational Institution of Athens (TEI), Greece are

(phone: 0030-210-5385383; fax: 0030-210-5385304. can be found at references [3][4][5].

E. K. Picasis is with the Department of Electronics Engineering,, The rest of the paper is organized follows. Section as

RDTL, Technological Educational Institution of Athens (TEI), Greece

II,

(phone: 0030-210-5385383; fax: 0030-210-5385304. describes the system level design of the baseband OFDM
Prof. A. A. Nassiopoulos is with the Department of Electronics, transceiver. The general structure along with requirements
RDTL, Engineering, Technological Educational Institution of Athens and specifications are given. In Section we present III,

(TEI), Greece (phone: 0030-210-5385383; fax: 0030-210-5385304; e-

mail: nassiopgteiath.gr). experimental results concening the evaluation of the

1-4244-0049-X/05/$20.00 c 2005 IEEE 554


Fig. 2: OFDM system experimental framework
Fig. 3: OFDM transmitter.
Fig. 4: OFDM receiver.
implemented system. Specifically, issues like estimation of
OFDM symbol timing and sampling frequency clock
offset verification are given. Finally, in Section IV,
conclusions and further work are discussed.
II. SYSTEM DESIGN
The general structure of the experimental framework is
depicted in Fig. 2. It consists of the following basic parts:
a) two personal computers which are being used in order
to transmit and receive data, respectively, b) two DSP
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boards that invoke the communication between the
computers and c) an oscilloscope for signal observation.
Additionally, the implemented system is capable of
transmitting raw text data, audio files and pictures.
Moreover, we notice that due to hardware limitations and
personal computer compatibility the operating frequency
range of practical implementations is bounded by a
sampling frequency of Fs=44.1KHz. Also, the stereo
interface helps to transmit or receive the In-Phase and
Quadrature (I and Q) components of the OFDM signal.
TABLE 1: OFDM SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
PARAMETER VALUE
Data rates Tunable
Modulation QPSK
Number of data subcarriers Tunable
Sampling frequency (Fs) 44.1 KHz (Ksps)
FFT/IFFT size for 44.1 Ksps 128
(N)
OFDM useful symbol
duration (IFFT/FFT interval) N 128
2.9m sec
Fs 44100
Guard interval (TCp) Tunable
Subcarrier spacing Fs 44100 .5Hz
N 128
Signal bandwidth Tunable
OFDM symbol duration 2.9msec+ TCp
The general structure of the implemented OFDM
transmitter system is depicted in Fig. 3. The system level
design was made using Matlab-Simulink. The
implementation is done through cooperation for direct
code generation and execution at the TMS320C6713 DSK
development kit. The model consists of the following
basic building blocks: a) Data generator as the bit stream
source, b) QAM/PSK modulator for mapping bits to
QAM/PSK values, c) IFFT for OFDM modulation, d)
Cyclic prefix insertion and e) DAC for digital to analog
conversion.
The receiver is depicted in Fig 4 and consists of the
reversed operation blocks. The resulted output OFDM
signal from the TMS320C6713 DSK board is observed by
means of an oscilloscope and spectrum analyzer while
demodulation is performed on a second DSP board.
Moreover, at the demodulation process, there is the ability
to set test points in order to measure several OFDM
phenomena.
The main design of an OFDM system involves
specifying several parameters regarding certain
requirements, set up by the propagation environment and
the quality of service. Such requirements are the available
bandwidth, the required bit rate and the tolerable delay
spread. From these demands, we specify the OFDM
symbol duration, thus the spacing of OFDM subcarriers
[1] [6]. The specifications for our model are summarized in
Table I. More details can be found in [6]. As we see some
of them are tunable, thereby providing flexibility for
further development. In this paper, due to limited space
only real-life measurements are shown.

.Jj ;;;J
R, R

III. SYSTEM EVALUATION w-,

A. OFDMsignal structure
The structure of an OFDM frame involves a preamble
pilot OFDM symbol, prepended to the start of the data
OFDM symbols. This known symbol uses BPSK
modulation and is used for, a) OFDM symbol time AX .kIk AYI4} .
.t4.d. .Smr. X V Xl 4.X.
detection through correlation and b) channel estimation. .

Experimentation revealed that such a symbol is sufficient (a) (b)

for a wired static and time-invariant communication Fig. 5: Case of OFDM unmodulated subcarrier generation, (a)
channel. The number of data OFDM symbols that 4 subcarriers (not adjacent) and (b) 15 adjacent subcarriers.
constitute a frame is also tunable having a typical value of
400 to 500. The subcarriers are evenly distributed among
positive and negative frequencies by using the appropriate
indexes of the IFFT bins. The DC term bin (zero index) is
set to null. Pilot subcarriers (having a value of 1) are also
placed at IFFT bins as an aid for correct demodulation.
Currently, the data subcarriers are modulated using QPSK
having a constellation of {1+j, 1-j, -1+j, -1-j}. As an
example of the evaluation of the transceiver, Fig. 5(a)
illustrates an OFDM signal generation having 4 non-
adjacent unmodulated subcarriers while Fig. 5(b) depicts
the case of 15 adjacent unmodulated subcarriers. Both
figures also depict the respective In-Phase and Quadrature
Fig. 6: Correct OFDM symbol timing within the Cyclic Prefix
time domain OFDM signals. Another example is the case offset interval (Figure displays only the In-Phase time
of OFDM/QPSK transmission that aims to show the waveform of OFDM symbol for illustrative purposes).
proper OFDM symbol boundaries for correct
demodulation using IFFT. An offset to the precise symbol
timing causes either rotation or ICI [3][4][5][7]. Fig. 6 where, Srx (k) and Stx corrected (k) is the QPSK
depicts the correct FFT interval of an OFDM symbol value (kth subcarrier) before and after channel estimation
B. Channel Estimation respectively. Simulation and implementation results have
shown that the task of channel estimation is necessary for
The pilot OFDM symbol is also used for channel correct coherent demodulation.
estimation. The estimation is performed on per frame
basis, since for a wired static and time-invariant channel C. Samplingfrequency clock offset verification
this is sufficient. By sending one OFDM symbol known to Experimentation on signal reception and demodulation
the receiver and if we let Ptx(k) be the complex QPSK revealed the effect of sampling frequency clock offset.
value that modulates the subcarrier of index k due to This happen because ADC (Analog to digital converter)
channel effects the receiver after FFT obtains an altered clock period at the receiver and DAC (Digital to analog
value. If we let Prx(k) be that value and consider that we converter) clock period at the transmitter are never the
are in the frequency domain, the following relation same, causing ICI and slowly rotation on subcarriers
applies: [4][5][7][8][9][10]. The rotation depends both on
(k) subcarrier index (subcarrier's frequency) and the OFDM
H(k) = P (1)
Pt" (k) symbol index. Thus, even if this clock error is small,
where, H(k) is the transfer function of the channel or the greatly influences the transceiver's performance for a long
number of OFDM symbols. Fig. 7 depicts the phase of the
frequency response for the kth subcarrier. If every value of
Ptx(k) is a priori known and registered to the receiver, pilot subcarriers as a function of the received OFDM
H(k) for every individual subcarrier is calculated using symbol index for the case of a real transmission of an
OFDM signal having 28 subcarriers. The transmission
(1). This estimate of H(k) is then used to calculate the
correct QPSK values for data symbols using the following
duration was 500 OFDM symbols. Phase unwrapping has
been performed for illustrative purpose. The initial phase
formula,
of every pilot is 0 rad. It is seen that as the OFDM symbol
1
Stx corrected (k) = H(k) Sr (k) (2) index increases, the phase of every pilot almost linearly
increases or decreases for positive or negative frequencies
respectively. Furthermore, the slope of every graph

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 Wj) - q5<)
AO qQ (3)
Pilot Phase vs OFDM SYMBOL NUMBER (k=1) AT fj-Ti
where !{(t) is is a pilot's phase at OFDM symbol index
T. The algorithm accounts for several measurements to
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
k=2 the whole set of pilot subcarriers and finally the offset
2F
phase is estimated as a mean value. Compensation is
0
-2p
achieved as a post-FFT processing, using:
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
2
k=13
xk =xk.e A (4)
0 ~ ~T~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I 1 which equalizes the phase of every subcarrier with respect
-2
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 to OFDM symbol index f and subcarrier symbol index k.
k=14
2
IV. CONCLUSIONS
-2 1
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
In this paper, we have presented the use of
contemporary computer-based design and development
Pilot Phase vs OFDM SYMBOL NUMBER (k=-14)
tools for the system level design and implementation of an
2 OFDM transceiver. In general, the idea is that this
0 methodology facilitates for modeling and evaluating,
2 through simulations, complex signal processing systems
50 100 150 200
k=-13
250 300 350 400 and furthermore allows to automatically generating code
so as to implement and test them using real-life laboratory
equipment. Finally, this concept can be adopted for both
-2
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 educational and research purposes.
k=-2

0
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
2 The authors would like to thank all the members of
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
k=-l RDTL (Research and Development for
2
Telecommunication Systems Laboratory) for their
0
-2-
valuable help and effort for this project.
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
REFERENCES
Fig. 7: Pilot subcarrier rotation with respect to OFDM symbol [1] IEEE Std. 802.lla/D7.0-1999, Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium
index and subcarrier index. Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications:
High-speed Physical Layer in the 5GHz Band, IEEE 1999.
[2] ETSI EN300-744 vl.2.1, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB):
depends on the subcarrier index thus the pilot subcarrier Framing Structure, channel coding and modulation for digital
frequency. Simulation results are available but not terrestrial television, ETSI 1999-01.
provided here due to limited space. Fig. 8 depicts the ratio [3] R., Van Nee and R., Prasad, OFDM for wireless multimedia
between positive frequencies pilots' subcarriers and the communications. Artech House Publishers, 2000.
[4] Juha Heiskala and John Terry, OFDM Wireless LANs: A theoretical
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algorithm is derived and applied to the received samples Kluwer International Series In Engineering and Computer Science,
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subcarriers phases rotation and estimates the offset phase Transmitter Using The TMS320C6713 DSK," in Proc. of EDERS
2004 (Texas Instruments & IEEE European DSP Education &
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[7] T. Pollet, M. Peeters, "Synchronization with DMT modulation,"
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[8] M., Sliskovic, "Carrier and Sampling Frequency Offset Estimation
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1SI [9] J-J. van de Beek, M.Sandell, P.O. Borjesson, "ML Estimation of
4 Time and Frequency Offset in OFDM systems," IEEE Trans. On
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_~~~~~# Signal Proc., Vol. 45, No. 7, July 1997.
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OFDM ai ~~c
Fig. 8: Phase ratio between positive IFFT bin pilot
subcarriers and first IFFT bin subcarrier with respect
to OFDM symbol index.

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