Robust noncoherent PN-code acquisition for CDMA communication systems

We are proposing a new noncoherent pseudonoise code acquisition method for code-division multiple-access (CDMA) mobile communication systems. The proposed method employs two digital matched filters, and the code acquisition is based on a double dwell process. Through serial cascading of the dual-matched filters, the proposed code acquisition method does not lose the track of the incoming sequence even after returning from the false alarm state. This unique feature imparts on our design much desired stability. Moreover, the use of two matched filters increases the acquisition speed, which is of prime importance. One important issue in CDMA acquisition is how to determine the threshold values for optimal performance, the measure of optimality being the minimum mean acquisition time. In our performance analysis, we have derived the probability of detection and false alarm as a function of threshold values, then determine the threshold values that achieve the minimum mean acquisition time. Our performance analysis shows that the mean acquisition time is 35 ms at -15 dB input chip signal-to-noise ratio, much faster than the conventional active correlation technique