Differentially Coherent Code Acquisition in the MIMO-Aided Multi-Carrier DS-CDMA Downlink

Both differentially coherent and non-coherent code acquisition schemes designed for the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)-aided multi-carrier (MC)-DS-CDMA downlink are analysed, when communicating over uncorrelated Rayleigh channels. The attainable mean acquisition time (MAT) performance is studied as a function of both the number of multiple transmit/multiple receive antennas and that of the number of subcarriers. It is demonstrated that in contrast to the expectations, when the number of multiple transmit antennas and/or that of the subcarriers is increased in both the differentially coherent and the non-coherent code acquisition scenarios, the achievable MAT deteriorates over the entire signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) per chip (Ec/Io) range considered, except for the scenario of single-carrier (SC)-DS-CDMA using P ¼ 2 transmit antennas and R ¼ 1 receive antenna. As expected, the degree of performance degradation depends upon the specific scheme and the Ec/Io ratio considered, although paradoxically, the correctly synchronised MIMO-aided system is capable of attaining its target bit error ratio performance at reduced SINR values

Differential Coherent Code Acquisition in the Multiple Transmit/Receive Antenna Aided DS-CDMA Downlink

In this contribution we investigate both differentially coherent and noncoherent code acquisition schemes in the multiple transmit/receive antenna aided DS-CDMA downlink, when communicating over uncorrelated Rayleigh channels. It is demonstrated that in contrast to our expectations, the achievable Mean Acquisition Time (MAT) degrades at low Ec/Io values, as the number of transmit antennas is increased in both differentially coherent and noncoherent code acquisition system scenarios, even though the degree of performance degradation depends upon the specific scheme considered. Ironically, our findings suggest that increasing the number of transmit antennas in a MIMO-aided CDMA system results in combining the low-energy, noise-contaminated signals of the transmit antennas, which ultimately increases the MAT by an order of magnitude, when the SINR is relatively low. Therefore our future research will be aimed at specifically designing acquisition schemes for MIMO systems

Initial Synchronisation in the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Aided Single- and Multi-Carrier DS-CDMA as well as DS-UWB Downlink

In this thesis, we propose and investigate code acquisition schemes employing both colocated and cooperative Multiple Input/Multiple Output (MIMO) aided Single-Carrier (SC) and Multi-Carrier (MC) Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) DownLink (DL) schemes. We study their characteristics and performance in terms of both Non-Coherent (NC) and Differentially Coherent (DC) MIMO scenarios. Furthermore, we also propose iterative code acquisition schemes for the Direct Sequence-Ultra WideBand (DS-UWB) DL. There is a paucity of code acquisition techniques designed for transmit diversity aided systems. Moreover, there are no in-depth studies representing the fundamental characteristics of code acquisition schemes employing both co-located and cooperative MIMOs. Hence we investigate both NC and DC code acquisition schemes in the co-located and cooperative MIMO aided SC and MC DS-CDMA DL, when communicating over spatially uncorrelated Rayleigh channels. The issues of NC initial and post-initial acquisition schemes as well as DC schemes are studied as a function of the number of co-located antennas by quantifying the attainable correct detection probability and mean acquisition time performances. The research of DS-UWB systems has recently attracted a significant interest in both the academic and industrial community. In the DS-UWB DL, initial acquisition is required for both coarse timing as well as code phase alignment. Both of these constitute a challenging problem owing to the extremely short chip-duration of UWB systems. This leads to a huge acquisition search space size, which is represented as the product of the number of legitimate code phases in the uncertainty region of the PN code and the number of legitimate signalling pulse positions. Therefore the benefits of the iterative code acquisition schemes are analysed in terms of the achievable correct detection probability and mean acquisition time performances. Hence we significantly reduce the search space size with the aid of a Tanner graph based Message Passing (MP) technique, which is combined with the employment of beneficially selected generator polynomials, multiple receive antennas and appropriately designed multiple-component decoders. Finally, we characterise a range of two-stage iterative acquisition schemes employing iterative MP designed for a multiple receive antenna assisted DS-UWB DL scenario

Serial Search Based Initial Code Acquisition in the Multiple Transmit/Receive Antenna Aided Multi-Carrier DS-CDMA Downlink

Initial code acquisition schemes designed for the multiple transmit/receive antenna aided Multi-Carrier (MC)-DS-CDMA downlink are analysed, when communicating over uncorrelated Rayleigh channels. The achievable Mean Acquisition Time (MAT) performance is characterised as a function of both the number of transmit/receive antennas and that of the number of subcarriers. It is demonstrated that in contrast to our expectations, the achievable MAT tends to degrade to low Ec/Io values right across the Signal-to-Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) per chip (Ec/Io) range considered, when the number of transmit antennas and/or that of the subcarriers are increased. An exception is constituted by Single-Carrier (SC)-DS-CDMA using P = 2 and 4 transmit antennas and R=1 receive antenna. This increased MAT has a grave detrimental effect on the performance of Rake receiver based synchronisation schemes, when the perfectly synchronised idealised system is capable of attaining its target bit error rate performance at reduced SINR values, as a benefit of the diversity gain achieved by employing both multiple transmit antennas and multiple subcarriers. Therefore our future research will be aimed at specifically designing powerful iterative acquisition schemes for MIMO-aided multi-carrier transmission systems

Analyzing Code Tracking Algorithms for Galileo Open Service Signal

The ever-increasing public interest on location and positioning services has originated a demand for higher performance Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs). Galileo Open Service (OS) signal, part of the European contribution to future GNSS, was designed to respond to the above demand. In all GNSSs, the estimation with high accuracy of the Line-Of-Sight (LOS) delay is a prerequisite. The Delay Lock Loops (DLLs) and their enhanced variants (i.e., feed-back code tracking loops) are the structures of choice for the commercial GNSS receivers, but their performance in severe multipath scenarios is still rather limited. In addition, the new satellite positioning system proposals specify the use of a new modulation, the Binary Offset Carrier (BOC) modulation, which triggers a new challenge in the code tracking stage. Therefore, in order to meet this emerging challenge and to improve the accuracy of the delay estimation in severe multipath scenarios, this thesis analyzes feed-back as well as feed-forward code tracking algorithms and proposes a novel algorithm, namely Peak Tracking (PT), which is a combination of both feed-back and feed-forward structures and utilizes the advantages inherent in these structures. In this thesis, the code tracking algorithms are studied and analyzed for Sine BOC (SinBOC) modulated Galileo OS signal for various multipath profiles in Rayleigh fading channel model. The performance of the analyzed algorithms are measured in terms of various well-known criteria such as Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE), Mean-Time-to-Lose Lock (MTLL), delay error variance and Multipath Error Envelopes (MEEs). The simulation results show that the proposed PT algorithm outperforms all other analyzed algorithms in various multipath profiles in good Carrier-to-Noise-Ratios (CNRs). The simulation results are compared with the theoretical Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB) and the comparison shows that the delay error variance for PT algorithm approaches the theoretical limit with the increase in CNR. Therefore, the proposed algorithm can be considered as an excellent candidate for implementation in future Galileo receivers, especially when tracking accuracy is a concern. /Kir1