Helleseth, T. & Kumar, P.V.

Pseudonoise Sequences
Mobile Communications Handbook
Ed. Suthan S. Suthersan
Boca Raton: CRC Press LLC, 1999
c 1999byCRCPressLLC
PseudonoiseSequences
Tor Helleseth
University of Bergen
P. Vijay Kumar
University of Southern California
8.1 Introduction
8.2 m Sequences
8.3 Theq-arySequenceswithLowAutocorrelation
8.4 Familiesof SequenceswithLowCrosscorrelation
GoldandKasami Sequences

QuaternarySequenceswithLow
Crosscorrelation

BinaryKerdockSequences
8.5 AperiodicCorrelation
Barker Sequences

Sequences with High Merit Factor

Se-
quenceswithLowAperiodicCrosscorrelation
8.6 Other CorrelationMeasures
Partial-PeriodCorrelation

MeanSquareCorrelation

Opti-
cal Orthogonal Codes
DeningTerms
References
Further Information
8.1 Introduction
Pseudonoisesequences(PNsequences), alsoreferredtoaspseudorandomsequences, aresequences
that aredeterministicallygeneratedandyet possesssomepropertiesthat onewouldexpect tondin
randomlygeneratedsequences. Applicationsof PN sequencesincludesignal synchronization, nav-
igation, radar ranging, randomnumber generation, spread-spectrumcommunications, multipath
resolution, cryptography, andsignal identicationinmultiple-accesscommunicationsystems. The
correlationbetweentwosequences{x(t )} and{y(t )} isthecomplexinnerproductoftherstsequence
withashiftedversionof thesecondsequence. Thecorrelationiscalled1) anautocorrelationif the
two sequences arethesame, 2) acrosscorrelation if they aredistinct, 3) aperiodic correlation if
theshift isacyclicshift, 4) anaperiodiccorrelationif theshift isnot cyclic, and5) apartial-period
correlationif theinner product involvesonlyapartial segment of thetwosequences. Moreprecise
denitionsaregivensubsequently.
Binarym sequences, dened in thenext section, areperhapsthebest-known familyof PN se-
quences. Thebalance, run-distribution, and autocorrelation propertiesof thesesequencesmimic
thoseofrandomsequences. Itisperhapstherandom-likecorrelationpropertiesofPNsequencesthat
makesthemmostattractiveinacommunicationssystem, anditiscommontorefer toanycollection
of low-correlationsequencesasafamilyof PNsequences.
Section 8.2begins by discussingm sequences. Thereafter, thediscussion continues with ade-
scriptionof sequencessatisfyingvariouscorrelationconstraintsalongthelinesof theaccompanying
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self-explanatorygure, Fig. 8.1. Expandedtutorial discussionsonpseudorandomsequencesmaybe
foundin[14], in[15, Chapter 5] andin[6].
8.2 m Sequences
Abinary{0, 1} shift-registersequence{s(t )} isasequencethat satisesalinear recurrencerelation
of theform
r

i=0
f
i
s(t +i) = 0 , for all t 0 (8.1)
wherer 1 isthedegreeof therecursion;thecoefcientsf
i
belongtotheniteeldGF(2) = {0, 1}
wheretheleadingcoefcient f
r
= 1. Thus, bothsequences{a(t )} and{b(t )} appearinginFig. 8.2
areshift-register sequences. Asequencesatisfyingarecursionof theforminEq. (8.1) issaidtohave
characteristicpolynomial f (x) =

r
i=0
f
i
x
i
. Thus, {a(t )} and{b(t )} havecharacteristicpolynomials
givenbyf (x) = x
3
+x +1 andf (x) = x
3
+x
2
+1, respectively.
FIGURE8.1: Overviewof pseudonoisesequences.
Sincean r-bit binaryshift register can assumeamaximumof 2
r
different states, it followsthat
everyshift-register sequence{s(t )} iseventuallyperiodicwithperiodn 2
r
, i.e.,
s(t ) = s(t +n), for all t N
for someinteger N. Infact, themaximumperiodof ashift-register sequenceis2
r
1, sinceashift
register that enters theall-zero statewill remain forever in that state. Theupper shift register in
Fig. 8.2wheninitializedwithstartingstate0 0 1 generatestheperiodicsequence{a(t )} givenby
0010111 0010111 0010111 (8.2)
of periodn = 7. Itfollowsthenthatthisshiftregister generatessequencesof maximal periodstarting
fromanynonzeroinitial state.
Anmsequenceissimplyabinaryshift-register sequencehavingmaximal period. For everyr 1,
msequencesareknowntoexist. Theperiodicautocorrelationfunction
s
of abinary{0, 1} sequence
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FIGURE 8.2: An exampleGold sequencegenerator. Here{a(t )} and {b(t )} arem sequences of
length7.
{s(t )} of periodn isdenedby

s
() =
n1

t =0
(1)
s(t +)s(t )
, 0 n 1
Anmsequenceof length2
r
1 hasthefollowingattributes. 1) Balanceproperty: ineachperiodof the
msequencethereare2
r1
onesand2
r1
1 zeros. 2) Runproperty: everynonzerobinarys-tuple,
s r occurs2
rs
times, theall-zero s-tupleoccurs2
rs
1 times. 3) Two-level autocorrelation
function:

s
() =
_
n if = 0
1 if = 0
(8.3)
Therst twopropertiesfollowimmediatelyfromtheobservationthat everynonzeror-tupleoccurs
precisely oncein each period of them sequence. For thethird property, consider thedifference
sequence{s(t +) s(t )} for = 0. Thissequencesatisesthesamerecursionasthem sequence
{s(t )} andisclearlynottheall-zerosequence. Itfollows, therefore, that{s(t +)s(t )} {s(t +

)}
for some

, 0

n 1, i.e., isadifferent cyclicshift of them sequence{s(t )}. Thebalance

propertyof thesequence{s(t +

)} thengivesusattribute3. Themsequence{a(t )} inEq. (8.2) can

beseentohavethethreelistedproperties.
If {s(t )} isanysequenceof periodn andd isaninteger, 1 d n, thenthemapping{s(t )}
{s(dt )} isreferredtoasadecimationof {s(t )} bytheinteger d. If {s(t )} isanm sequenceof period
n = 2
r
1 andd isaninteger relativelyprimeto2
r
1, thenthedecimatedsequence{s(dt )} clearly
alsohasperiodn. Interestingly, it turnsout that thesequence{s(dt )} isalwaysalsoanm sequence
of thesameperiod. For example, when{a(t )} isthesequenceinEq. (8.2), then
a(3t ) = 0011101 0011101 0011101 (8.4)
and
a(2t ) = 0111001 0111001 0111001 (8.5)
Thesequence{a(3t )} isalsoanmsequenceof period7, sinceit satisestherecursion
s(t +3) +s(t +2) +s(t ) = 0 for all t
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of degreer = 3. In fact {a(3t )} ispreciselythesequencelabeled{b(t )} in Fig. 8.2. Thesequence
{a(2t )} issimplyacyclicallyshiftedversionof {a(t )} itself; thispropertyholdsingeneral. If {s(t )} is
anymsequenceof period2
r
1, then{s(2t )} will alwaysbeashiftedversionof thesamemsequence.
Clearly, thesameistruefor decimationsbyanypower of 2.
Startingfromanmsequenceof period2
r
1, itturnsoutthatonecangenerateall msequencesof
thesameperiodthroughdecimationsbyintegersd relativelyprimeto2
r
1. Theset of integersd,
1 d 2
r
1 satisfying(d, 2
r
1) = 1 formsagroupundermultiplicationmodulo2
r
1,withthe
powers{2
i
| 0 i r 1} of2formingasubgroupoforderr. Sincedecimationbyapowerof2yields
ashiftedversionof thesamemsequence, itfollowsthatthenumber of distinctmsequencesof period
2
r
1 is[(2
r
1)/r] where(n) denotesthenumber of integersd, 1 d n, relativelyprimeto
n. For example, whenr = 3, therearejust twocyclicallydistinct msequencesof period7, andthese
arepreciselythesequences{a(t )} and{b(t )} discussedintheprecedingparagraph. Tablesprovided
in[12] canbeusedtodeterminethecharacteristicpolynomial of thevariousmsequencesobtainable
throughthedecimationof asinglegivenmsequence. Theclassical referenceonmsequencesis[4].
If oneobtainsasequenceof somelargelengthn byrepeatedlytossinganunbiasedcoin, thensuch
asequencewill verylikelysatisfythebalance, run, andautocorrelationpropertiesof anm sequence
of comparablelength. For thisreason, it iscustomarytoregardtheextent towhichagivensequence
possessesthesepropertiesasameasureof randomnessof thesequence. Quiteapart fromthis, in
manyapplicationssuchassignal synchronizationandradar ranging, itisdesirabletohavesequences
{s(t )} withlowautocorrelationsidelobesi.e., |
s
()| issmall for = 0. Whereasm sequencesarea
primeexample, thereexist other methodsof constructingbinarysequenceswithlowout-of-phase
autocorrelation.
Sequences{s(t )} of periodn havinganautocorrelationfunctionidentical tothatof anmsequence,
i.e., having
s
satisfyingEq. (8.3) correspondtowell-studiedcombinatorial objectsknownascyclic
Hadamarddifferencesets. Knowninnitefamiliesfall intothreeclasses1) Singer andGordon, Mills
andWelch, 2) quadraticresidue, and3) twin-primedifferencesets. Thesecorrespond, respectively,
tosequencesof periodn of theformn = 2
r
1, r 1; n prime; andn = p(p +2) withbothp and
p +2 beingprimeinthelast case. For adetailedtreatment of cyclicdifferencesets, see[2]. Arecent
observationbyMaschietti in[9] providesadditional familiesof cyclicHadamarddifferencesetsthat
alsocorrespondtosequencesof periodn = 2
r
1.
8.3 Theq-arySequenceswithLowAutocorrelation
Asdenedearlier, theautocorrelationof abinary{0, 1} sequence{s(t )} leadstothecomputationof
theinner productof an{1, +1} sequence{(1)
s(t )
} withacyclicallyshiftedversion{(1)
s(t +)
} of
itself. The{1, +1} sequenceistransmittedasaphaseshiftbyeither0

and180

ofaradio-frequency
carrier, i.e., usingbinaryphase-shift keying(PSK) modulation. If themodulationisq-aryPSK, then
oneisledtoconsider sequences{s(t )} withsymbolsintheset Z
q
, i.e., theset of integersmoduloq.
Therelevant autocorrelationfunction
s
() isnowdenedby

s
() =
n1

t =0

s(t +)s(t )
wherenistheperiodof{s(t )} andisacomplexprimitiveqthrootofunity. Itispossibletoconstruct
sequences{s(t )} over Z
q
whoseautocorrelationfunctionsatises

s
() =
_
n if = 0
0 if = 0
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For obviousreasons, suchsequencesaresaidtohaveanideal autocorrelationfunction.
Weprovidewithout proof twosampleconstructions. Thesequencesintherst constructionare
givenby
s(t ) =
_
t
2
/2 (mod n) when n iseven
t (t +1)/2 (mod n) when n isodd
Thus, thisconstruction providessequenceswithideal autocorrelation for anyperiodn. Notethat
thesizeq of thesequencesymbol alphabet equalsn whenn isoddand2n whenn iseven.
Thesecond construction also provides sequences over Z
q
of period n but requires that n bea
perfect square. Let n = r
2
and let bean arbitrary permutation of theelements in thesubset
{0, 1, 2, . . . , (r 1)} of Z
n
: Let g beanarbitraryfunctiondenedonthesubset {0, 1, 2, . . . , r 1}
of Z
n
. Thenanysequenceof theform
s(t ) = rt
1
(t
2
) +g(t
2
) (mod n)
wheret = rt
1
+ t
2
with 0 t
1
, t
2
r 1 is thebase-r decomposition of t , has an ideal au-
tocorrelation function. When thealphabet sizeq equalsor dividestheperiod n of thesequence,
ideal-autocorrelationsequencesalsogobythenamegeneralizedbent functions. For details, see[6].
8.4 Familiesof SequenceswithLowCrosscorrelation
Giventwosequences{s
1
(t )} and{s
2
(t )} over Z
q
of periodn, their crosscorrelationfunction
1,2
()
isdenedby

1,2
() =
n1

t =0

s
1
(t +)s
2
(t )
where isaprimitiveqthroot of unity. Thecrosscorrelationfunctionisimportant incode-division
multiple-access(CDMA) communication systems. Here, eachuser isassignedadistinct signature
sequence and to minimize interference due to the other users, it is desirable that the signature
sequenceshavepairwise, lowvaluesof crosscorrelationfunction. Toprovidethesysteminaddition
withaself-synchronizingcapability, itisdesirablethatthesignaturesequenceshavelowvaluesof the
autocorrelationfunctionaswell.
Let F = {{s
i
(t )} | 1 i M} beafamilyof M sequences{s
i
(t )} over Z
q
eachof periodn. Let

i,j
() denotethecrosscorrelationbetweentheithandjthsequenceat shift , i.e.,

i,j
() =
n1

t =0

s
i
(t +)s
j
(t )
, 0 n 1
Theclassical goal insequencedesignfor CDMAsystemshasbeenminimizationof theparameter

max
= max
_

i,j
()

| either i = j or = 0
_
for xed n and M. It should benoted though that, in practice, becauseof datamodulation the
correlationsthat onerunsintoaretypicallyof anaperiodicrather thanaperiodicnature(seeSec-
tion8.5). Theproblemof designingfor lowaperiodiccorrelation, however, isamoredifcultone. A
typical approach, therefore, hasbeentodesignbasedonperiodiccorrelation, andthentoanalyzethe
resultingdesignfor itsaperiodiccorrelationproperties. Again, inmanypractical systems, themean
squarecorrelationpropertiesareof greater interest thantheworst-casecorrelationrepresentedbya
parameter suchas
max
. ThemeansquarecorrelationisdiscussedinSection8.6.
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Boundsontheminimumpossiblevalueof
max
for givenperiodn, familysizeM, andalphabet
sizeq areavailablethat canbeusedtojudgethemeritsof aparticular sequencedesign. Themost
efcient boundsarethosedueto Welch, Sidelnikov, andLevenshtein, see[6]. In CDMA systems,
thereisgreatest interest indesignsinwhichtheparameter
max
isintherange

n
max
2

n.
Accordingly, Table8.1usestheWelch, Sidelnikov, andLevenshteinboundstoprovideanorder-of-
magnitudeupper boundonthefamilysizeM for certain
max
inthecitedrange.
Practical considerationsdictatethat q besmall. Thebit-orientednatureof electronichardware
makes it preferableto haveq a power of 2. With this in mind, a description of someefcient
sequencefamilieshavinglowauto- andcrosscorrelationvaluesandalphabet sizesq = 2 andq = 4
aredescribednext.
TABLE8.1 BoundsonFamilySizeM for
Givenn,
max
Upper boundonM Upper BoundonM

max
q = 2 q > 2

n n/2 n

2n n n
2
/2
2

n 3n
2
/10 n
3
/2
8.4.1 GoldandKasami Sequences
Giventhelowautocorrelationsidelobesofanmsequence,itisnatural toattempttoconstructfamilies
of lowcorrelationsequencesstartingfromm sequences. Twoof thebetter knownconstructionsof
thistypearethefamiliesof GoldandKasami sequences.
Let r beoddandd = 2
k
+1 wherek, 1 k r 1, isaninteger satisfying(k, r) = 1. Let {s(t )}
beacyclicshift of anmsequenceof periodn = 2
r
1 that satisesS(dt ) 0 andlet G betheGold
familyof 2
r
+1 sequencesgivenby
G = {s(t )} {s(dt )} {{s(t ) +s(d[t +])} | 0 n 1}
Then each sequencein G has period 2
r
1 and themaximum-correlation parameter
max
of G
satises

max

_
2
r+1
+1
An application of theSidelnikov bound coupled with theinformation that
max
must bean odd
integer yieldsthat for thefamilyG,
max
isassmall asit canpossiblybe. InthissensethefamilyG
isan optimal family. Weremark that thesecommentsremain trueeven whend isreplacedbythe
integer d = 2
2k
2
k
+1 withtheconditionsonk remainingunchanged.
TheGoldfamilyremainsthebest-knownfamilyof msequenceshavinglowcrosscorrelation. Ap-
plicationsincludetheNavstar Global PositioningSystemwhosesignalsarebasedonGoldsequences.
Thefamilyof Kasami sequenceshasasimilar description. Let r = 2v andd = 2
v
+1. Let {s(t )}
beacyclicshift of an m sequenceof periodn = 2
r
1 that satisess(dt ) 0, andconsider the
familyof Kasami sequencesgivenby
K = {s(t )}
_
{s(t ) +s(d[t +])} | 0 2
v
2
_
ThentheKasami familyK contains2
v
sequencesof period2
r
1. It canbeshownthat inthiscase

max
= 1 +2
v
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Thistimeanapplicationof theWelchboundandthefactthat
max
isanintegershowsthattheKasami
familyisoptimal intermsof havingthesmallest possiblevalueof
max
for givenn andM.
8.4.2 QuaternarySequenceswithLowCrosscorrelation
Theentries in Table8.1suggest that nonbinary (i.e., q > 2) designs may beused for improved
performance. Afamilyof quaternarysequencesthat outperformtheGoldandKasami sequencesis
nowdiscussedbelow.
Letf (x) bethecharacteristicpolynomial of abinarymsequenceof length2
r
1 for someinteger
r. Thecoefcientsof f (x) areeither 0or 1. Now, regardf (x) asapolynomial over Z
4
andformthe
product (1)
r
f (x)f (x). Thiscanbeseentobeapolynomial inx
2
. Denethepolynomial g(x)
of degreer bysettingg(x
2
) = (1)
r
f (x)f (x). Let g(x) =

r
i=0
g
i
x
i
andconsider theset of all
quaternarysequences{a(t )} satisfyingtherecursion

r
i=0
g
i
a(t +i) = 0 for all t .
It turns out that with theexception of theall-zero sequence, all of thesequences generated in
thiswayhaveperiod2
r
1. Thus, therecursiongeneratesafamilyA of 2
r
+ 1 cyclicallydistinct
quaternarysequences. Closer studyrevealsthat themaximumcorrelation parameter
max
of this
familysatises
max
1 +

2
r
. Thus, incomparisontothefamilyof Goldsequences, thefamily
A offersalower valueof
max
(byafactor of

2) for thesamefamilysize. In comparison to the

set of Kasami sequences, it offersamuchlarger familysizefor thesameboundon
max
. FamilyA
sequencesmaybefounddiscussedin[16, 3].
Weillustratewithanexample. Let f (x) = x
3
+x +1 bethecharacteristicpolynomial of them
sequence{a(t )} inEq. (8.1). Thenover Z
4
g
_
x
2
_
= (1)
3
f (x)f (x) = x
6
+2x
4
+x
2
+3
sothat g(x) = x
3
+ 2x
2
+ x + 3. Thus, thesequencesinfamilyA aregeneratedbytherecursion
s(t + 3) + 2s(t + 2) + s(t + 1) + 3s(t ) = 0 mod4. Thecorrespondingshift register isshownin
Fig. 8.3. By varyinginitial conditions, this shift register can bemadeto generateninecyclically
distinct sequences, eachof length7. Inthiscase
max
1 +

8.
FIGURE8.3: Shift register that generatesfamilyA quaternarysequences{s(t )} of period7.
8.4.3 BinaryKerdock Sequences
TheGoldandKasami familiesof sequencesarecloselyrelatedtobinarylinear cycliccodes. It iswell
knownincodingtheorythat thereexistsnonlinear binarycodeswhoseperformanceexceedsthat of
thebest possiblelinear code. Surprisingly, someof theseexamplescomefrombinarycodes, which
areimagesof linear quaternary(q = 4) codesunder theGraymap: 0 00, 1 01, 2 11,
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3 10. A primeexampleof thisistheKerdock code, which recentlyhasbeen shown to bethe
Grayimageof aquaternarylinear code. Thus, itisnotsurprisingthattheKerdockcodeyieldsbinary
sequencesthat signicantlyoutperformthefamilyof Kasami sequences.
TheKerdocksequencesmaybeconstructedasfollows: let f (x) bethecharacteristicpolynomial
of an m sequenceof period 2
r
1, r odd. As before, regardingf (x) as apolynomial over Z
4
(whichhappenstohave{0, 1} coefcients), let thepolynomial g(x) over Z
4
bedenedviag(x
2
) =
f (x)f (x). [Thus, g(x) isthecharacteristic polynomial of afamily A sequenceset of period
2
r
1.] Set h(x) = g(x) =

r
i=0
h
i
x
i
, andlet S betheset of all Z
4
sequencessatisfyingthe
recursion

r
i=0
h
i
s(t +i) = 0. ThenS contain4
r
-distinct sequencescorrespondingtoall possible
distinct initializationsof theshift register.
Let T denotethesubset S of size2
r
-consistingof thosesequencescorrespondingtoinitializations
of theshift register onlyusingthesymbols0and2inZ
4
. Thentheset S T of size4
r
2
r
contains
aset U of 2
r1
cyclicallydistinct sequenceseachof period2(2
r
1). Givenx = a +2b Z
4
with
a, b {0, 1}, letdenotethemostsignicantbit(MSB) map(x) = b. LetK
E
denotethefamilyof
2
r1
binarysequencesobtainedbyapplyingthemap toeachsequenceinU. It turnsout that each
sequenceinU alsohasperiod2(2
r
1) andthat, furthermore, for thefamilyK
E
,
max
2+

2
r+1
.
Thus, K
E
isamuchlarger familythantheKasami family, whilehavingalmostexactlythesamevalue
of
max
.
For example, takingr = 3 andf (x) = x
3
+x +1, wehavefromthepreviousfamilyAexample
thatg(x) = x
3
+2x
2
+x +3, sothath(x) = g(x) = x
3
+2x
2
+x +1. ApplyingtheMSBmap
totheheadof theshift register, anddiscardinginitializationsof theshift register involvingonly0s
and2syieldsafamilyof four cyclicallydistinct binarysequencesof period14. Kerdock sequences
arediscussedin[6, 11, 1, 17].
8.5 Aperiodic Correlation
Let {x(t )} and{y(t )} becomplex-valuedsequencesof length(or period) n, not necessarilydistinct.
Their aperiodiccorrelationvalues{
x,y
()| (n 1) n 1} aregivenby

x,y
() =
min{n1,n1}

t =max{0,}
x(t +)y

(t )
wherey

(t ) denotesthecomplexconjugateof y(t ). Whenx y, wewill abbreviateandwrite

x
in
placeof
x,y
. Thesequencesdescribednext areperhapsthemost famousexampleof sequenceswith
low-aperiodicautocorrelationvalues.
8.5.1 Barker Sequences
A binary{1, +1} sequence{s(t )} of lengthn issaidtobeaBarker sequenceif theaperiodicauto-
correlationvalues
s
() satisfy|
s
()| 1 for all , (n 1) n 1. TheBarker propertyis
preservedunder thefollowingtransformations:
s(t ) s(t ), s(t ) (1)
t
s(t ) and s(t ) s(n 1 t )
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aswell asundercompositionsoftheprecedingtransformations. OnlythefollowingBarkersequences
areknown:
n = 2 ++
n = 3 ++
n = 4 +++
n = 5 ++++
n = 7 ++++
n = 11 +++++
n = 13 +++++++++
where+ denotes+1 and denotes1 and sequencesaregenerated fromtheseviathetransfor-
mationsalreadydiscussed. It isknownthat if anyother Barker sequenceexists, it must havelength
n > 1,898,884, that isamultipleof 4.
For anupper boundtothemaximumout-of-phaseaperiodicautocorrelationof anm sequence,
see[13].
8.5.2 SequenceswithHighMerit Factor
Themerit factor F of a{1, +1} sequence{s(t )} isdenedby
F =
n
2
2

n1
=1

2
s
()
Since
s
() =
s
() for 1 || n 1 and
s
(0) = n, factor F mayberegardedastheratioof
thesquareof thein-phaseautocorrelation, tothesumof thesquaresof theout-of-phaseaperiodic
autocorrelationvalues. Thus, themerit factor isonemeasureof theaperiodicautocorrelationprop-
ertiesof abinary{1, +1} sequence. It isalso closelyconnectedwith thesignal to self-generated
noiseratioof acommunicationsysteminwhichcodedpulsesaretransmittedandreceived.
Let F
n
denotethelargest merit factor of anybinary{1, +1} sequenceof lengthn. For example,
at lengthn = 13, theBarker sequenceof length13 hasamerit factor F = F
13
= 14.08. Assuming
acertain ergodicity postulateit was established by Golay that lim
n
F
n
= 12.32. Exhaustive
computer searchescarriedout for n 40 haverevealedthefollowing.
1. For 1 n 40, n = 11, 13,
3.3 F
n
9.85 ,
2. F
11
= 12.1, F
13
= 14.08.
ThevalueF
11
isalsoachievedbyaBarker sequence. Frompartial searches, for lengthsupto117,
thehighest knownmerit factor isbetween8 and9.56; for lengthsfrom118 to200, thebest-known
factor iscloseto 6. For lengths> 200, statistical search methodshavefailed to yield asequence
havingmerit factor exceeding5.
Anoffsetsequenceisoneinwhichafraction of theelementsof asequenceof lengthn arechopped
off at oneendandappendedtotheother end, i.e., anoffset sequenceisacyclicshift of theoriginal
sequencebyn symbols. Itturnsoutthattheasymptoticmeritfactor of msequencesisequal to3and
isindependent of theparticular offset of themsequence. Thereexist offsetsof sequencesassociated
withquadratic-residueandtwin-primedifferencesetsthat achievealarger merit factor of 6. Details
maybefoundin[7].
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8.5.3 SequenceswithLowAperiodic Crosscorrelation
If {u(t )} and{v(t )} aresequencesof length2n 1 denedby
u(t ) =
_
x(t ) if 0 t n 1
0 if n t 2n 2
and
v(t ) =
_
y(t ) if 0 t n 1
0 if n t 2n 2
then
{
x,y
() | (n 1) n 1} =
_

u,v
() | 0 2n 2
_
(8.6)
Givenacollection
U = {{x
i
(t )} | 1 i M}
of sequencesof lengthn over Z
q
, let usdene

max
= max
_

a,b
()

| a, b U , either a = b or = 0
_
It isclear fromEq. (8.6) howboundsontheperiodiccorrelationparameter
max
canbeadapted
togiveboundson
max
. Translationof theWelchboundgivesthat for everyinteger k 1,

2k
max

_
n
2k
M(2n 1) 1
_
_
M(2n 1)
_
2n+k2
k
_ 1
_
Settingk = 1 intheprecedingboundgives

max
n
_
M 1
M(2n 1) 1
Thus, for xedM andlargen, Welchsboundgives

max
O
_
n
1/2
_
Thereexist sequencefamilieswhichasymptoticallyachieve
max
O(n
1/2
), [10].
8.6 Other CorrelationMeasures
8.6.1 Partial-PeriodCorrelation
The partial-period (p-p) correlation between the sequences {u(t )} and {v(t )} is the collection
{
u,v
(l, , t
0
) | 1 l n, 0 n 1, 0 t
0
n 1} of inner products

u,v
(l, , t
0
) =
t =t
0
+l1

t =t
0
u(t +)v

(t )
wherel isthelengthof thepartial periodandthesumt + isagaincomputedmodulon.
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In direct-sequenceCDMA systems, thepseudorandomsignaturesequencesusedbythevarious
usersareoftenverylongforreasonsofdatasecurity. Insuchsituations,tominimizereceiverhardware
complexity, correlationover apartial periodof thesignaturesequenceisoftenusedtodemodulate
data, as well as to achievesynchronization. For this reason, thep-p correlation properties of a
sequenceareof interest.
Researchershaveattemptedtodeterminethemomentsof thep-pcorrelation. Herethemaintool
istheapplication of thePlesspower-moment identitiesof codingtheory[8]. Theidentitiesoften
allowtherst andsecondp-pcorrelationmomentstobecompletelydetermined. For example, this
istruein thecaseof m sequences(theremainingmomentsturn out to depend upon thespecic
characteristicpolynomial of themsequence). Further detailsmaybefoundin[15].
8.6.2 MeanSquareCorrelation
Frequently in practice, thereis agreater interest in themean-squarecorrelation distribution of a
sequencefamilythanintheparameter
max
. Quiteofteninsequencedesign, thesequencefamilyis
derivedfromalinear, binarycycliccodeof lengthn bypickingasetof cyclicallydistinctsequencesof
periodn. Thefamiliesof GoldandKasami sequencesaresoconstructed. Inthiscase, aspointedout
byMassey, themeansquarecorrelationof thefamilycanbeshowntobeeither optimumor closeto
optimum, under certaineasilysatisedconditions, imposedontheminimumdistanceof thedual
code. A similar situation holdseven when thesequencefamilydoesnot comefromalinear cyclic
code. Inthissense, meansquarecorrelationisnot averydiscriminatingmeasureof thecorrelation
propertiesof afamilyof sequences. Anexpandeddiscussionof thisissuemaybefoundin[5].
8.6.3 Optical Orthogonal Codes
Given apair of {0, 1} sequences{s
1
(t )} and{s
2
(t )} eachhavingperiodn, wedenetheHamming
correlationfunction
12
(), 0 n 1, by

12
() =
n1

t =0
s
1
(t +)s
2
(t )
Suchcorrelationsareof interest, for instance, inoptical communicationsystemswherethe1sand
0sinasequencecorrespondtothepresenceor absenceof pulsesof transmittedlight.
An (n, w, ) optical orthogonal code(OOC) is afamily F = {{s
i
(t )} | i = 1, 2, . . . , M}, of
M {0, 1} sequencesof periodn, constant Hammingweight w, wherew isaninteger lyingbetween1
andn 1 satisfying
ij
() whenever either i = j or = 0.
Notethat theHammingdistanced
a,b
between aperiodof thecorrespondingcodewords{a(t )},
{b(t )}, 0 t n 1 in an (n, w, ) OOC havingHammingcorrelation , 0 , isgiven
byd
a,b
= 2(w ), and, thus, OOCsarecloselyrelatedtoconstant-weight error correctingcodes.
Givenan(n, w, ) OOC, byenlargingtheOOCtoincludeeverycyclicshift of eachsequenceinthe
code, oneobtainsaconstant-weight, minimumdistanced
min
2(w ) code. Conversely, given
aconstant-weight cycliccodeof lengthn, weight w andminimumdistanced
min
, onecanderivean
(n, w, ) OOC codewith w d
min
/2 bypartitioningthecodeintocyclicequivalenceclasses
andthenpickingpreciselyonerepresentativefromeachequivalenceclassof sizen.
Bymakinguseofthisconnection,onecanderiveboundsonthesizeofanOOCfromknownbounds
onthesizeof constant-weightcodes. TheboundgivennextfollowsdirectlyfromtheJohnsonbound
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for constant weight codes[8]. Thenumber M(n, w, ) of codewordsina(n, w, ) OOCsatises
M(n, w, )
1
w
_
n 1
w 1

_
n +1
w +1
_
n
w
__

_
An OOC codethat achievestheJohnson bound issaid to beoptimal. A family{F
n
} of OOCs
indexedbytheparameter n andarisingfromacommon construction issaidto beasymptotically
optimumif
lim
n
|F
n
|
M(n, w, )
= 1
Constructionsfor optical orthogonal codesareavailablefor thecaseswhen = 1 and = 2. For
larger valuesof , thereexist constructionswhichareasymptoticallyoptimum. Further detailsmay
befoundin[6].
DeningTerms
Autocorrelationofasequence: Thecomplexinner productof thesequencewithashiftedver-
sionitself.
Crosscorrelationoftwosequences: Thecomplex inner product of therst sequencewith a
shiftedversionof thesecondsequence.
mSequence: Aperiodicbinary{0, 1} sequencethat isgeneratedbyashift register withlinear
feedbackandwhichhasmaximal possibleperiodgiventhenumber of stagesintheshift
register.
Pseudonoisesequences: Alsoreferredtoaspseudorandomsequences(PN),thesearesequences
thataredeterministicallygeneratedandyetpossesssomepropertiesthatonewouldexpect
tondinrandomlygeneratedsequences.
Shift-registersequence: Asequencewithsymbolsdrawnfromaeld, whichsatisesalinear-
recurrencerelationandwhichcanbeimplementedusingashift register.
References
[1] Barg, A. Onsmall familiesof sequenceswithlowperiodiccorrelation, LectureNotesinCom-
puter Science, 781, 154158, Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1994.
[2] Baumert, L.D. CyclicDifferenceSets, LectureNotesinMathematics182, SpringerVerlag, New
York, 1971.
[3] Boztas, S., Hammons, R., andKumar, P.V. 4-phasesequenceswithnear-optimumcorrelation
properties, IEEETrans. Inform. Theory, IT-38, 11011113, 1992.
[4] Golomb, S.W. Shift Register Sequences, AegeanParkPress, SanFrancisco, CA, 1982.
[5] Hammons, A.R., Jr. andKumar, P.V. Onarecent 4-phasesequencedesignfor CDMA. IEICE
Trans. Commun., E76-B(8), 1993.
[6] Helleseth, T. and Kumar, P.V. (planned). Sequences with lowcorrelation. In Handbook of
CodingTheory, ed., V.S. Plessand W.C. Huffman, Elsevier SciencePublishers, Amsterdam,
1998.
[7] Jensen, J.M., Jensen, H.E., and Hholdt, T. Themerit factor of binary sequences related to
differencesets. IEEETrans. Inform. Theory, IT-37(May), 617626, 1991.
[8] MacWilliams, F.J. andSloane, N.J.A. TheTheoryof Error-CorrectingCodes, North-Holland,
Amsterdam, 1977.
c 1999byCRCPressLLC
[9] Maschietti, A. Differencesetsandhyperovals, Designs, CodesandCryptography, 14, 8998,
1998.
[10] Mow, W.H. On McElieces open problemon minimax aperiodic correlation. In Proc. IEEE
Intern. Symp. Inform. Theory, 75, 1994.
[11] Nechaev, A. TheKerdockcodeinacyclicform, DiscreteMath. Appl., 1, 365384, 1991.
[12] Peterson, W.W. andWeldon, E.J., Jr. Error-CorrectingCodes, 2nded. MIT Press, Cambridge,
MA, 1972.
[13] Sarwate, D.V. Anupper boundontheaperiodicautocorrelationfunctionfor amaximal-length
sequence. IEEETrans. Inform. Theory, IT-30(July), 685687, 1984.
[14] Sarwate, D.V. and Pursley, M.B. Crosscorrelation properties of pseudorandomand related
sequences. Proc. IEEE, 68(May), 593619, 1980.
[15] Simon, M.K., Omura, J.K., Scholtz, R.A., andLevitt, B.K. SpreadSpectrumCommunications
Handbook, reviseded., McGrawHill, NewYork, 1994.
[16] Sol e, P. A quaternarycycliccodeandafamilyof quadriphasesequenceswithlowcorrelation
properties,CodingTheoryandApplications,LectureNotesinComputerScience,388,193201,
Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 1989.
[17] Udaya, P. andSiddiqi, M. Optimal biphasesequenceswithlargelinear complexityderivedfrom
sequencesover Z
4
, IEEETrans. Inform. Theory, IT-42(Jan), 206216, 1996.
Further Information
Amorein-depthtreatment of pseudonoisesequences, maybefoundinthefollowing.
[1] Golomb, S.W. Shift Register Sequences, AegeanParkPress, SanFrancisco, 1982.
[2] Helleseth, T. andKumar, P.V. SequenceswithLowCorrelation, inHandbookof CodingThe-
ory, edited by V.S. Pless and W.C. Huffman, Elsevier SciencePublishers, Amsterdam, 1998
(planned).
[3] Sarwate, D.V. and Pursley, M.B. Crosscorrelation Properties of Pseudorandomand Related
Sequences, Proc. IEEE, 68, May, 593619, 1980.
[4] Simon, M.K., Omura, J.K., Scholtz, R.A., andLevitt, B.K. SpreadSpectrumCommunications
Handbook, reviseded., McGrawHill, NewYork, 1994.
c 1999byCRCPressLLC