A computationally efficient correlator for pseudo-random correlation systems

Pseudo-random correlation systems find their application in many engineering fields like, communications, nondestructive testing, medical imaging, and geophysics. The heart of such systems is a correlator, which performs the crosscorrelation between the received signal and a reference waveform. A new method of DSP-based correlator implementation is discussed. It exploits the structural characteristics of pseudo-random waveforms and performs the crosscorrelation of any digitized waveform with a reference pseudo-random waveform, in a manner, much more efficient in terms of the processing speed and hardware requirements. This new method can be applied for baseband or bandpass waveforms, and it can handle a wide range of modulation schemes and signaling structures. In order to achieve greater resolution of the calculated correlation function, it is possible to compute the correlation function for the lag values in fraction of the basic chip interval.