Parallel acquisition of multicarrier direct-sequence spread-spectrum signals

The frequency diversity of multicarrier direct-sequence signaling can potentially offer robust performance in frequency-selective channels. This paper focuses on the acquisition of multicarrier signals. The maximum-likelihood decision rule for parallel acquisition in frequency-selective fading is derived. Methods for acquisition with a limited number of correlators are also discussed. The performance is compared to that of single-carrier systems, where the effects of acquisition on error rates are determined. Results show that the multicarrier system can give slightly better performance.