Author – D.Prabakaran
Spread spectrum technology has blossomed from a military technology into one of the fundamental building blocks in current and next-generation wireless systems. From cellular to cordless to wireless LAN (WLAN) systems, spectrum is a vital component in the system design process.
Since spread-spectrum is such an integral ingredient, it’s vital for designers to have an understanding of how this technology. In this tutorial, we’ll take on that task, addressing the basic operating characteristics of a spread-spectrum system. We’ll also examine the key differentiators between frequency-hop (FHSS) and direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) implementations.
How It Works
Spread spectrum uses wideband, noise-like signals that are hard to detect, intercept, or demodulate. Additionally, spread-spectrum signals are harder to jam (interfere with) than narrow band signals. These low probability of intercept (LPI) and anti-jam (AJ) features are why the military has used spread spectrum for so many years. Spread-spectrum signals are intentionally made to be a much wider band than the information they are carrying to make them more noise-like.
Spread-spectrum transmitters use similar transmit power levels to narrowband transmitters. Because spread-spectrum signals are so wide, they transmit at a much lower spectral power density, measured in watts per hertz, than narrow band transmitters. This lower transmitted power density characteristic gives spread-spectrum signals a big plus. Spread-spectrum and narrowband signals can occupy the same band, with little or no interference. This capability is the main reason for all the interest in spread spectrum today.
The use of special pseudo noise (PN) codes in spread-spectrum communications makes signals appear wide band and noise-like. It is this very characteristic that makes spread-spectrum signals possess a low LPI. Spread-spectrum signals are hard to detect on narrow band equipment because the signal’s energy is spread over a bandwidth of maybe 100 times the information bandwidth (Figure 1) .
Tutorial on Spread Spectrum Technology – EDN