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SPREAD SPECTRUM AND CODE-DEVISION MULTIPLE ACCESS

Zar Le Aung, Thant Tay Zar Win, Ye Aung
ABSTRACT
This paper explores a spread spectrum digital communication system employs channel encoding, modulation, and
identical pseudo-random sequence generators at both transmission and reception ends. These generators produce a
binary valued sequence that spreads and despread signals, requiring time synchronization. Two modulation
techniques, PSK and FSK, are used, with DSSS being the focus here. DSSS involves spreading the information
signal’s bandwidth by pseudo-randomly shifting the phase of the carrier signal. Demodulation despread the signal
by reversing the spreading process. In CDMA systems, DSSS and gold sequences enhance signal integrity and
security, as demonstrated by encoding the message "HELLO."
Keywords: Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Systems, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), Frequency
Shift Keying (FSK), Phase Shift Keying (PSK), Spread Spectrum Digital Communication Systems.
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1. INTRODUCTION
The basic elements of a spread spectrum sequence generators are employed, one
digital communication system are illustrated interfaces with the modulator, and the other
in figure 1. According to the diagram the with the demodulator at the transmitting and
channel encoder and decoder, and the receiving ends respectively. The generators
modulator and the demodulator are the basic produce a pseudo-random or pseudo-noise
elements of a conventional digital (PN) binary valued sequence, which is used
communication system. In addition to these to spread the transmitted signal and despread
elements, two identical pseudo-random the received one.

Figure 1. Model of Spread Spectrum Digital Communication System

Time synchronization of the PN transmission of information, synchronization

sequence generated at the receiver with the may be achieved by transmitting a fixed
PN sequence contained in the received signal pseudo-random bit pattern that the receiver
is required in order to properly despread the will recognize in the presence of interference
received signal. Initially, prior to the with a high probability. Both phase shift
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keying (PSK) and frequency shift keying compared to the reciprocal of the transmitted
(FSK) modulation types are employed in signal bandwidth. On the other hand, FSK
spread spectrum communication systems. modulation is appropriate in applications
PSK is appropriate in applications where where such phase coherence cannot be
phase coherence between the transmitted maintained due to time variant effects on the
signal and the received one can be maintained communications link.
over a time interval that is relatively long
The PN sequence generated at the process let us first start with the information
baseband signal which can be expressed as
modulator is used in conjunction with the follows:
PSK modulation to shift the phase of the PSK
signal pseudo-randomly at a rate that is an
, (1)
integer multiple of the bit rate. This
modulated signal is called a direct sequence where , represents the transmitted
spread spectrum (DSSS) signal. When used bit of the message signal, is the duration
in conjunction with FSK, the PN sequence is
of one symbol, is the shaping waveform,
used to select the frequency of the transmitted
signal pseudo-randomly, then the modulated
signal is called a frequency-hopped spread .

spectrum signal. Only the DSSS will be This signal is multiplied by the signal
from the PN sequence generator, which can
studied in this paper. be expressed as follows:
2. DIRECT SEQUENCE SPREAD
SPECTRUM
, (2)
Since spread spectrum signaling formats
feature large duration bandwidth products.
where , represents the spreading
Direct sequence refers to a specific approach
to construct spread spectrum waveforms; to code (or) signature sequence, is the chip
illustrate this let us consider the transmission duration, N is the code length,
of a binary information sequence by means of
binary PSK. The information rate is , is the shaping
bits/sec and the bit interval is sec.
The available channel bandwidth is Hz, waveform, .
where . At the modulator, the This multiplication operation, serves to
bandwidth of the information signal is spread the bandwidth of the information

expanded to Hz by shifting the phase signal, whose bandwidth is Hz, into the
of the carrier pseudo-randomly at a rate of W wider bandwidth occupied by PN generator
times/sec according to the pattern of the PN signal , whose bandwidth is , as
generator. To demonstrate the spreading shown in figure 2.
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Figure 2. Generation of a Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Signal

The spectrum spreading is illustrated in
figure 3, which shows the convolution of the . (5)
two spectra, the narrow spectrum
Hence, is the number of chips of the PN
corresponding to the information signal and
code sequence information bit. Another
the wide spectrum corresponding to the PN
interpretation is that represents the number
sequence. The product signal , is of possible phase transitions in the
used to amplitude modulate the carrier
transmitted signal during the bit interval .
and to generate the DSB-SC The demodulation of the signal is
signal performed as illustrated in figure 3. The
received signal is first multiplied by a replica
. (3) of the waveform generator at the
receiver, which is synchronized to the PN
Since for any t, it follows that
code in the received signal. This operation is
the carrier-modulated transmitted signal can
called dispreading, since the effect of
also expressed as:
multiplication by at the receiver is to
undo the spreading operation at the
, (4)
transmitter. Thus, it will be:
where, when , and
when . Therefore, the
transmitted signal is a binary PSK signal. . (6)
In other words, since the rectangular
pulse is called a chip, and its time Since, , for all t. The resulting signal

duration is called the chip interval, also occupies a bandwidth

Hz, which is the bandwidth of the
the reciprocal is called the chip rate, and information signal. Since, the demodulator
correspond-ding to the bandwidth W of the has a bandwidth that is identical to the
transmitted signal. The ratio of the bit bandwidth of the despread signal; the only
interval to the chip interval is usually additive noise that corrupts the signal at the
selected to be an integer, which denoted as: demodulator is the noise that falls within the
information-bandwidth of the received signal.
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Figure 3. Demodulation of Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Signal
3. APPLICATION OF DIRECT-
SEQUENCE SPREAD SPECTRUM
IN CDMA COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM
In the CDMA communication system, if
we send a message called “H, E, L, L, O”
from one person to another. In this message,
each character of “HELLO” has the
following numeric value according to the
ASCII code;
Firstly, we convert this message into a
binary code.
Generate the gold sequence, spread it
along with the "H, E, L, L, O" signal using
direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), and
broadcast the result using double sideband
suppressed carrier (DSB-SC) modulation.
When broadcasting like this, the
message symbol will be built with 8 bits and
bit duration 8, and the spreading code will be
gold code, which code will be code length 8
and chip duration 1. Therefore, the message
changes in the following sequence.
“HELLO” = 01001000 01000101
01001100 01001100 01001111.
Gold Code = 00111010.
An integral aspect of CDMA
communication, the gold sequence plays a
pivotal role in ensuring signal integrity and
resistance to interference. Through the
application of DSSS, the spread gold
sequence effectively masks the transmitted
message, enhancing privacy and security.
The DSB-SC modulation method is
favored in CDMA systems for its ability to
efficiently transmit the spread signal while
minimizing spectral interference. The
utilization of 8-bit symbols and gold
sequences in CDMA systems is a standard
practice aimed at optimizing signal
transmission and reception efficiency. We
describe the illustration of this process in
figure 4.
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Figure 4. ‘H, E, L, L, O’ Message Signal in CDMA System
4. DISCUSSION
This paper explores the basic elements
of a spread spectrum digital communication
system, which include a channel encoder and
decoder, a modulator and demodulator, and
two pseudo-random sequence generators.
These generators produce a pseudo-noise
binary sequence to spread and despread
signals. Synchronization of the PN sequence
at the receiver with the transmitted signal is
crucial for proper signal processing. In direct
sequence spread spectrum (DSSS), binary
PSK is used to shift the phase of the carrier
pseudo-randomly, expanding the signal
bandwidth. DSSS is applied in CDMA
systems, where a message, such as
"HELLO," is converted to binary, spread
using a gold sequence, and transmitted with
enhanced security and resistance to
interference.
REFERENCES
[1] Haykin, S. and Moher, M., “Modern Wireless Communications”, Pearson Prentice Hall,
London, 2005.
[2] Proakis, J. G., “Digital Communications”, 5th Ed., McGraw-Hill Co., USA, 1995.
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Authors:
5. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the implementation of a
spread spectrum digital communication
system, particularly using Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum (DSSS), enhances signal
security and resistance to interference. The
system leverages pseudo-random sequence
generators at both the transmitter and receiver
to achieve signal spreading and despreading,
ensuring synchronization and accurate data
recovery. Phase Shift Keying (PSK) and
Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) are
modulation techniques employed, with DSSS
utilizing PSK to achieve efficient spectrum
spreading. In the context of CDMA
communication, DSSS combined with gold
sequences and Double Sideband Suppressed
Carrier (DSB-SC) modulation ensures robust
and efficient transmission, optimizing signal
integrity and minimizing interference, as
illustrated in the transmission of the
"HELLO" message.
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Captain Zar Le Aung was commissioned in 2019. She obtained her bachelor’s degree
specializing in Mathematics from Yadanabon University in 2013. She also obtained M.Sc
(Maths) from Yadanabon University in 2016 and M.Res (Maths) from Yadanabon University in
2017. Now she is serving as a deputy head of Radar Deperment at Defence Services High-Tech
Communication and Electronics Equipment Production and Research Center.
Major Thant Tay Zar Win, a graduate of B.Sc (DSA), was commissioned at the Defence
Services Academy in 2005. He obtained M.Sc (Maths) in 2007 and Ph.D (Maths) in 2016 from
Defence Services Academy. Now he is serving as an assistant lecturer at the Faculty of
Mathematics in Defence Services Academy.
Captain Ye Aung, a graduate of B.Sc. (DSA), was commissioned in the Defence Services
Academy in 2009. He obtained M.Sc. (Maths) in 2016 from Defence Services Academy. Now he
is serving as a company commander at No. (3025) Air Defence Battalian