Accurate DS-CDMA bit-error probability calculation in Rayleigh fading

A binary direct-sequence spread-spectrum multiple-access system with random sequences in flat Rayleigh fading is considered. A new explicit closed-form expression is obtained for the characteristic function of the multiple-access interference signals. It is shown that the overall error rate can be expressed by a single integral whose integrand is nonnegative and exponentially decaying. Bit-error rates (BERs) are obtained with this expression to any desired accuracy with minimal computational complexity. The dependence of the system BER on the number of transitions in the target user signature chip sequence is explicitly derived. The results are used to examine definitively the validity of three Gaussian approximations and to compare the performances of synchronous systems to asynchronous systems