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 multidwell 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 flow-graph 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 Part II companion paper.