Fourth order Non-Data-Aided synchronization

The study of parameter estimation under additive and multiplicative noise terms constitutes an interesting signal processing research topic with important consequences in the development of high-performance digital communication receivers. In this sense, the paper addresses the analysis of non-assisted digital synchronizers based on up to fourth-order moments and it shows how this alternative outperforms the conventional second-order techniques. The study is performed for MSK (Minimum Shift Keying) as a particular case of the binary CPM modulations. In the paper this transmission scheme is adopted because it allows a simple extension to any linear digital modulation and to any multiple access modulation, as well. Simulation results show that the higher-order techniques exhibit a parameter estimation variance closer to the so-called Modified Cramer-Rao bound for moderate to high SNR if compared to second-order techniques.