OFDM Generation, Transmission, and Reception

This article explores the generation, transmission, and reception processes of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology. OFDM is a widely used digital modulation technique whose unique multi-carrier scheme makes it excel in high-speed data transmission. The OFDM technique works by dividing a high-speed data stream into multiple low-speed substreams, which are then modulated onto multiple orthogonal subcarriers for transmission. This approach allows each subcarrier to operate at a lower transmission rate while maintaining a higher overall data throughput.

In OFDM implementation, the generation process involves data stream segmentation and modulation, along with subcarrier signal generation typically achieved through Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) operations. The transmission process includes subcarrier signal superposition and transmission, often implemented with cyclic prefix insertion to combat multipath interference. The reception process comprises subcarrier signal demodulation (using FFT), signal recombination, and data stream recovery, incorporating synchronization and equalization algorithms to mitigate channel effects. OFDM technology finds applications in digital television broadcasting, wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi), and mobile communication systems (4G/5G), where its robustness against frequency-selective fading makes it particularly valuable.