Development of a prototype DS-CDMA System

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a prototype Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA) system. The main objective of the work was to design and implement a CDMA system, based on its fundamental theoretical concepts, and thereby gain a clear insight into its operation. A secondary objective was the development of a unit to be used for the demonstration of the salient characteristics of CDMA in a laboratory'. CDMA is a form of spread spectrum communication. Spread spectrum communication, was originally developed as a technique for achieving jamming-resistant military communications. In recent years, CDMA has gained widespread popularity in commercial applications due to the massive capacity gains it promises over conventional FDMA and TDMA techniques. Despite being the newest digital air interface, many telecommunications standards bodies have defined standards based on CDMA technology for modern fixed, cellular and personal communication systems (PCS). Today, it is in fully-fledged deployment in a wide range of applications from high capacity cellular systems to ingenious position location schemes. Therefore, familiarity with CDMA is essential for today's communication engineer.