The SCH consists of two sub-channels, the primary and secondary SCH.

These subchannels are sent in parallel using code division during the first 256 chips of
each time slot. The P-SCH consists of a code, the Primary Synchronization Code
(PSC) which is formed as follows: cp = (1+j) x <a,a,a,-a,-a,a,-a,-a,a,a,a,-a,a,
-a,a,a>, where a=<1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1,1,-1,1,-1,1,-1,-1,1>. Thus, it is a 256 chi
p long complex-valued sequence with identical real and imaginary components, whi
ch is repeated at the beginning of each time slot. This code was chosen for its
good aperiodic and autocorrelation properties. The same code is used by all th
e cells and enables the mobiles to detect the existence of the UMTS cell and to
synchronize itself on the time slot boundaries. This is normally done with a si
ngle matched filter or any similar device. The slot timing of the cell is obtai
ned by detecting peaks in the matched filter output.
The S-SCH also consists of a code, the Secondary Synchronization Code (SSC) that
indicates which of the 64 scrambling code groups the cell s downlink scrambling c
ode belongs to. 16 different SSCs are defined. Each SSC is a 256 chip long compl
ex-valued sequence with identical real and imaginary components. They are constr
ucted as followed:
z=<b,b,b,-b,b,b,-b,-b,b,-b,b,-b,-b,-b,-b,-b>, where b=<1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1,-1,1,-1
,1,-1,1,1,-1> corresponds to the first 8 chips of a (defined for PSC) and the oppo
site of its last 8 chips. This is why the primary and secondary synchronization
codes are orthogonal and can thus be sent in parallel.
There is one specific SSC transmitted in each time slot, giving us a sequence of
15 SSCs. There is a total of 64 different sequences of 15 SSCs, corresponding t
o the 64 primary scrambling code groups. These 64 sequences are constructed so t
hat one sequence is different from any other one, and different from any rotated
version of any sequence. The UE correlates the received signal with the 16 SSCs
and identifies the maximum correlation value.
The S-SCH provides the information required to find the frame boundaries and the
downlink scrambling code group (one out of 64 groups).
P-SCH x <a,a,a,-a,-a,a,-a,-a, a,a,a,-a,a,-a,a,a>,
S-SCH z <b,b,b,-b,b,b,-b,-b,

b,-b,b,-b,-b,-b,-b,-b>

where a=<1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1, 1,-1, 1,-1, 1,-1, -1, 1>

where b=<1,1,1,1,1,1,-1,-1,-1, 1,-1, 1,-1, 1, 1, -1>