A Chip-Level IS95-Compliant Cellular CDMA Simulator: Design, Implementation, and Analysis

Abstract

Cell capacity in a CDMA communication system can be increased through the use of base station antenna arrays and digital beamforming. We have therefore developed a comprehensive chip-level simulator of the reverse link component of an IS95-compliant cellular system. This level of detail is necessary to validate our simplifying models for imperfect beamforming and imperfect power control. This paper explains in detail the implementation of the entire reverse link simulation process. The various techniques available for power control and beamforming are then described, together with methods for estimating maximum cell capacity. An error analysis which was used to validate the accuracy of the simulator is included. Finally, sample simulation results are presented, our ongoing research is discussed, and some concluding remarks are made