DS-CDMA Code Acquisition in the Presence of Correlated Fading Part I: Theoretical Aspects

This paper deals with the analysis of the code-acquisition process performed by a mobile terminal in a code-division multiple access cellular system. The fundamental contribution is the setting of a theoretical framework for code-acquisition analysis, accounting for the presence of fading and shadowing with specified coherence time. A multi dwell architecture is considered, accounting for different verification strategies. The MAX/TC detection criterion is used, and the acquisition performance is analyzed, following both the direct and flowgraph approaches. Expressions for the acquisition time probability density function under different assumptions are given, as well as closed form expressions for the mean and variance of the acquisition time. Practical applications and numerical results are reported in the PartII companion paper.