IE 419/519 Wireless Networks

Lecture Notes #6 Spread Spectrum

Introduction

In 1985, the FCC modified Part 15 of the radio spectrum regulation Governs unlicensed devices Attempt to stimulate the production and use of wireless network products The modification authorized wireless network products to operate in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands using spread spectrum modulation 902 - 928 MHz 2.4 - 2.4835 GHz 5.725 - 5.850 GHz
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Introduction

FCC allows users to operate wireless products without obtaining licenses if the products meet certain requirements e.g., Operation under 1 watt transmitter output power This deregulation of the frequency spectrum eliminates Need to perform costly and time-consuming frequency planning to avoid interference with existing radio systems Need to license product again at a new location (if equipment is moved)
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Spread Spectrum Encoding

Digital data Analog data

Digital Signal Analog Signal Digital Signal Analog Signal

Which option to choose?

Requirements to meet Media & communications facilities

Spread Spectrum

Can be used to transmit either analog or digital data, using an analog signal
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Spread Spectrum

Input is fed into a channel encoder

Produces analog signal with narrow bandwidth

Signal is further modulated using sequence of digits

Spreading code or spreading sequence Generated by pseudonoise, or pseudo-random number generator Effect of modulation is to increase bandwidth of

signal to be transmitted

Spread Spectrum

On receiving end, digit sequence is used to demodulate the spread spectrum signal Signal is fed into a channel decoder to recover data

Spread Spectrum

What can be gained from apparent waste of spectrum?

Immunity from various kinds of noise and multipath distortion

Anti-jamming performance Interference immunity Low probability of intercept Low transmit power density

Can be used for hiding and encrypting signals

Several users can independently use the same higher bandwidth with very little interference

Multiple access communications Multiple simultaneous transmissions

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Types of Spread Spectrum

Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)

First type developed More recent technology

Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

Frequency Hopping SS

Signal is broadcast over seemingly random series of radio frequencies

A number of channels allocated for the FH signal Width of each channel corresponds to bandwidth of input signal

Signal hops from frequency to frequency at fixed intervals

Transmitter operates in one channel at a time Bits are transmitted using some encoding scheme At each successive interval, a new carrier frequency is selected
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Frequency Hopping SS

Source: http://murray.newcastle.edu.au/users/staff/eemf/ELEC351/SProjects/Morris/types.htm

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Frequency Hopping SS

Hopping Sequence

Channel sequence dictated by spreading code

Pseudorandom number serves as an index into a table of frequencies

Chip Period

Time spent on each channel

FCC regulation maximum dwell time of 400 ms IEEE 802.11 standard 300 ms

Chipping rate

Hopping rate
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Frequency Hopping SS

Receiver, hopping between frequencies in synchronization with transmitter, picks up message Advantages

Eavesdroppers hear only unintelligible blips Attempts to jam signal on one frequency succeed only at knocking out a few bits

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FHSS Performance Considerations

Large number of frequencies used Results in a system that is quite resistant to jamming

Jamming signal must jam all frequencies With fixed power, this reduces the jamming power in any one frequency band

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Direct Sequence SS

Each bit in original signal is represented by multiple bits in the transmitted signal

Spreading code spreads signal across a wider frequency band Spread is in direct proportion to the number of bits used

One technique combines digital information stream with the spreading code bit stream using exclusive-OR

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Direct Sequence SS

Source: http://www.sss-mag.com/primer.html

Source: http://murray.newcastle.edu.au/users/staff/eemf/ELEC351/SProjects/Morris/types.htm

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Direct Sequence SS

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Processing Gain

Unique property of spread specturm waveforms Used to measure the performance advantage of spread spectrum against narrowband forms

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Processing Gain in FHSS

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Processing Gain in DHSS

In a DS system

Random binary data has a bit rate of Rb The pseudorandom binary waveform has a rate of

Rc

Modulation PSK BPSK

(Eb/No)dB

GdB

Required (Eb/No)dB

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Code-Division Multiple Access

Basic Principles of CDMA

Start with a data signal with rate D Break each bit into k chips

Chips are a user-specific fixed pattern

Chip data rate of new channel = kD

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Code-Division Multiple Access

Advantage

Good protection against interference and tapping Receiver must be precisely synchronized with the transmitter to apply the decoding correctly Receiver must know the code and must separate the channel with user data from the background noise composed of other signals and environmental noise

Disadvantages

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CDMA Example

If k=6 and code is a sequence of 1s and -1s

For a 1 bit, A sends code as chip pattern

<c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6>

<-c1, -c2, -c3, -c4, -c5, -c6>

For a 0 bit, A sends complement of code

Receiver knows senders code and performs electronic decode function

Su d d1 c1 d 2 c 2 d 3 c3 d 4 c 4 d 5 c5 d 6 c6

<d1, d2, d3, d4, d5, d6> = received chip pattern <c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6> = senders code

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CDMA Example

User A code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> To send a 0 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1> To send a 1 bit = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>
(As code) x (received chip pattern)

User B code = <1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1>

Receiver receiving with As code

User A 1 bit: 6 -> 1 User A 0 bit: -6 -> 0 User B 1 bit: 0 -> unwanted signal ignored
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CDMA for DSSS

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Spread Spectrum

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