Method of estimating fading coefficients of channels and of receiving symbols and related single or multi-antenna receiver and transmitter

摘要

The method is for estimating the fading coefficients of a plurality of transmission channels on which signals to be sent, generated as a function of a sequence of symbols, are transmitted according to a particular modulation, e.g. AM-PSK modulation. The fading coefficients are estimated by using estimations of the transmitted symbols obtained in advance, thus obtaining DC components of the received signal by coherent demodulation locked to the phases of the transmitted AM-PSK signals, and processing these DC components. The method may not require the choice of a stochastic distribution model of the channel fading, thus it remains efficient even when the channel characteristics vary significantly. Moreover, the method works correctly even if the received stream is disturbed by inter-symbolic interference (ISI) and/or by multi-path fading.