Code Division Multiple Access

Course: Data Transmission EE 723

Attention: Dr. Ibrahim Mansour

Research Done by:

Abdallah Kayed Farraj

Student ID: 8021840

Date: 07/01/2004
Access Schemes

Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA)

• Each user is allocated a unique frequency band or channel. These channels
are assigned on demand to users who request service.
• The channel has two frequencies – forward channel & reverse channel.
• During the period of the call, no other user can share the same frequency
band.
• If the FDMA channel is not in use, then it sits idle and cannot be used by
other users to increase or share capacity. This is a wasted resource.
• The bandwidth of FDMA channels is narrow (30 KHz) since it supports only
one call/ carrier.
• ISI is low since the symbol time is large compared to average delay spread.
No equalization is required.
• Advantages
 Simple analogue frequency translation equipment
 Requires only frequency synchronization
 Receiver is a simple "bandpass" filter
 No coordination or synchronization among the users
• Disadvantages
 Requires high precision narrowband selective filters
 Requires highly linear amplifiers
 High power consumption
 Requires guard frequency band
 Not very efficient in multipath fading channels

Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

• TDMA systems divide the radio spectrum into time slots and each user is
allowed to either transmit or receive in each time slots.
• Each user occupies a cyclically repeating time slots. TDMA can allow different
number of time slots for separate user.
• TDMA shares the single carrier frequency with several users, where each
user makes use of non-overlapping timeslots.
• Data Transmission for user of TDMA system is discrete bursts. The result is
low battery consumption. Handoff process is simpler, since it is able to listen
for other base stations during idle time slots.
• Since different slots are used for T and R, duplexers are not required.
• Equalization is required, since transmission rates are generally very high as
compared to FDMA channels.
• Advantages:
 No narrowband filtering to distinguish between users (only
switches).
 Well suited for digital communication.
 Dynamic time slot allocation possible.
• Disadvantages:
 Accurate time synchronization.
 Guard time interval between consecutive timeslot.
 High bandwidth; sensitive to multipath distortion.
 High complexity.

Spread Spectrum Multiple Access Technologies (SSMA)

• SSMA technologies uses techniques which has a transmission bandwidth that
is >> maximum required RF bandwidth.
• This is achieved by pseudo noise (PN) sequence that contents a narrowband
signal to a wideband noise-like signal before transmission.
• Demodulation is done by correlation with the spreading sequence.
• SSMA provides immunity to multiple interference and robust multiple access
capability.
• Types of Spread Spectrum Techniques
 Frequency Hopped Multiple Access (FHMA)
 Direct Sequence Multiple Access (CDMA)

Frequency Hopping Multiple Access

A frequency hopping (FH) modulation c(t) is formed by nonlinearly modulating a
train of pulses with a sequence of pseudorandomly generated frequency shifts
{fn}. In mathematical terms, c(t) has the complex form

Where p(t) is again the basic pulse shape having a duration Th, called the hop
time and {φn} is a sequence of random phases associated with the generation of
the hops. FH modulation is traditionally used with multiple-frequency-shift-keyed
(MFSK) information signals, which have the complex form
 , where d(t) is an M-level digital waveform(M denotes the
symbol alphabet size) representing the information frequency modulation at a
rate 1/Ts symbols/s (sps).

• Advantages:
 Protection against multipath fading.
 Allows more users than the number of frequencies.
 Random access of users.
 Protection against external interference.
• Disadvantages:
 Combines the problems of FDMA and TDMA
 Synchronization of transmitter/receiver
 Nonorthogonal operation

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DS-CDMA)

Basics
CDMA is a form of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum communications. In order
to protect the signal, the code used is pseudo-random. It appears random, but is
actually deterministic, so that the receiver can reconstruct the code for
synchronous detection. This pseudo-random code is also called pseudo-noise
(PN).
In Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems all users transmit in the same
bandwidth simultaneously. Communication systems following this concept are
``spread spectrum systems''. In this transmission technique, the frequency
spectrum of a data-signal is spread using a code uncorrelated with that signal. As
a result the bandwidth occupancy is much higher then required.
The codes used for spreading have low cross-correlation values and are unique
to every user. This is the reason that a receiver which has knowledge about the
code of the intended transmitter is capable of selecting the desired signal.
Because of the difficulty to jam or detect spread spectrum signals, the first
applications were in the military field. However nowadays spread spectrum
systems are gaining popularity also in commercial applications.
The main parameter in spread spectrum systems is the processing gain: the ratio
of transmission and information bandwidth, which is basically the ``spreading
factor''. The processing gain determines the number of users that can be allowed
in a system, the amount of multi-path effect reduction, the difficulty to jam or
detect a signal etc. For spread spectrum systems it is advantageous to have a
processing gain as high as possible.

CDMA Transmitter:

• The narrowband message signal (t) is multiplied by a pseudo noise code

sequence that has a chip rate >> data rate of message.
• All users use the same carrier frequency and may transmit simultaneously.
The kth transmitted signal is given by:

CDMA Receiver:

• At the receiver, the received signal is correlated with the appropriate

signature sequence to produce desire variable.
Message Signal
• m(t) is a time sequence of non-overlapping pulses of duration T, each of
which has an amplitude (+/-) 1.
• The PN waveform consists of N pulses or chips for message symbol period T.
NTC = T where TC is the chip period.

Correlator output for first user

• The multiplied signal will be p²(t) = 1 for the correct signal and will yield the
dispersed signal and can be demodulated to yield the message signal mi(t).

Processing Gain
• The processing gain is the number of chips (elements of spreading sequence)
per bit (or symbol) (element of information sequence)
• Spectrum widened by a factor N (processing gain)
• Spectral density lowered by a factor N
• Signal appears as white noise to narrow band receivers.
Synchronization Errors in DS-CDMA

Probability of bit error

Advantages of DS-CDMA Techniques
• Very difficult to detect
• Very difficult to jam
• Protection against multipath fading (wide bandwidth implies frequency
diversity)
• Flexibility, easy to change spreading code and data rate
• Protection against external interference
• Many users of CDMA use the same frequency. Either TDD or FDD may be
used
• There is no absolute limit on the number of users in CDMA. Rather the
system performance gradually degrades for all users as the number of users
is increased

Disadvantages of DS-CDMA Techniques

• Synchronization between transmitter/receiver
• Expensive high speed electronics is required (it is complex)
• Non-orthogonal operation
• Near-far problem occurs at a CDMA receiver if an undesired user has high
detected power as compared to the desired user
• Self-jamming is a problem in a CDMA system. Self-jamming arise because
the PN sequence are not exactly orthogonal, non-zero contributions from
other users in the system arise

Capacity of Digital Cellular CDMA

• Capacity of FDMA and TDMA system is bandwidth limited
• Capacity of CDMA system is interference limited
• The link performance of CDMA increases as the number of users decreases

Single Cell System

• The cellular network consists of a large number of mobile users
communicating with a base station.
• The cell site transmitter consist of linear combiner which adds spread
signal of individual users for the forward channel
 • A pilot signal is also included in the cell-site transmitter and is used by
each mobile to set its own power control for the reverse link.

• Let the number of users be N

Signal to noise ratio SNR = S / [(N – 1) * S]
= 1 / (N -1)
Where S is signal power from each of N user.
• The bit energy to noise ratio is an important factor in communication systems

Number of users that can access the system

N = 1+ [(W / R)] / [(Eb / No)] - η / S)
W / R = Processing gain
• In order to increase the capacity, the interference due to other users should
be reduced. There are mainly two techniques.

Techniques to improve capacity

• Antenna Sectorization
A cell site with 3 antennas, each having a beamwidth of 120˚, has interference
No’, which is 1/3 of the interference received by omni directional antenna. This
Increases he capacity by a factor of 3
• Voice activity
Each transmitter is switched off during period of no voice activity. Voice activity is
denoted by a factor α

CDMA Power Control

• In CDMA, the system capacity is controlled if each mobile transmitter power
level is controlled so that its signal arrives at the cell site with minimum
required S/I.
• If the signal power of all mobile transmitters within the area of cell site are
controlled, then total signal power received at all site from all mobile will be
equal to average received power times the number of mobiles operating in
region of coverage.
• Optimal power is desired, never too weak or too strong.

Spreading Codes
• The performance of DS-CDMA depends on the spreading code ai(n). The
ideal properties are:

• Good correlation properties, i.e., good for communications.

• Receiver could be built around correlators

Pseudo Noise (PN) sequences:

• Easy to generate
• Easy to synchronize
• Periodic sequences
• Relatively good correlation properties

Maximum Length Sequences (M-sequences)

M-sequences are pseudo noise (PN) sequences and can be generated using a
Linear Feedback Shift Registers (LFSR). All operations are done in Modulo 2
arithmetic.
An M-sequence is a maximum length sequence with period
Where L is the memory of the LFSR.
Only a few special g vectors result in a maximum length sequence. The registers
(delay elements) must be initialized with a nonzero state. The LFSR outputs 0's
and 1's which are converted to +1's and -1's.

Code Correlation
In this context, correlation has a specific mathematical meaning. In general the
correlation function has these properties:
• It equals 1 if the two codes are identical
• It equals 0 if the two codes have nothing in common
Intermediate values indicate how much the codes have in common. The more
they have in common, the harder it is for the receiver to extract the appropriate
signal. There are two correlation functions:
• Cross-Correlation: The correlation of two different codes. As we’ve said, this
should be as small as possible.
• Auto-Correlation: The correlation of a code with a time-delayed version of
itself. In order to reject multi-path interference, this function should equal 0 for
any time delay other than zero.
The receiver uses cross-correlation to separate the appropriate signal from
signals meant for other receivers, and auto-correlation to reject multi-path
interference.
Comparisons
Frequency hopping does not employ any processing gain, since there is no
spreading of the signal. Processing gain, which provides the decrease in power
density when a signal is processed for transmission and the increase in power
density when the signal is despread, improves the received signal’s S/N ratio
(Signal to Noise ratio). Because FHSS does not use any processing gain, the
frequency hopper needs to transmit using more power in order to have the same
S/N as a direct sequence radio. However, since the unlicensed RF bands have
the same overall power limit defined for both types of radios, the FHSS systems
cannot achieve the same S/N ratio as DSSS systems.
Using frequency hopping, it is also more difficult to synchronize the receiver to
the transmitter because both the time and frequency need to be in tune. A direct
sequence device on the other hand, needs only the timing of the chips to be
synchronized. As a result, FHSS radios must spend more time to search for the
signal, and then lock on to it. This greatly increases the latency time between
data transmissions.
Because DSSS radios can lock in the chip sequence in just a few bits, and only
require this exercise one time after power up, DSSS devices will have a much
lower latency for all data transmissions. This lower latency is one of the reasons
that DS provides much higher bandwidth utilization (data throughput) compared
to FH systems.