An OFDM interpretation of zero padded block transmissions

Abstract Orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) systems are particularly straightforward to understand in the frequency domain. The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the fact that zero padded block transmissions also have a straightforward frequency domain interpretation. The advantages of this interpretation are illustrated by three additional results which further the understanding of zero padded block transmission systems; it is shown that the zero padding spreads the spectrum of the source symbols uniformly, it is explained why zero padded block transmission systems do not always outperform OFDM systems, and it is shown how pilot tones can be incorporated into zero padded block transmissions.