A new spreading scheme for convolutionally coded CDMA communication in a Rayleigh-fading channel

There has been increased interest in the use of direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS/CDMA) for wireless communication systems. We find that the asymptotic bit-error probability (BEP), P/sub b/, of a convolutionally coded code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system in a frequency-selective Rayleigh-fading channel depends on the length of the shortest error event path and the product of symbol distances along that path. Based on this observation, we propose a new spreading scheme that maximizes the length of the shortest error event path. It is shown that the proposed scheme yields an improvement of 1.0-1.3 dB at P/sub b/=10/sup -5/ over the conventional convolutionally coded CDMA system, and even a higher improvement can be achieved as the required BEP is decreased.