Parallel code-acquisition for multicarrier DS-CDMA systems communicating over multipath Nakagami fading channels

A parallel pseudo-noise (PN) code acquisition scheme is investigated for multicarrier CDMA (MC-CDMA) systems, The channel is modeled by a frequency-selective Nakagami distribution. The parallel acquisition scheme´s performance is evaluated, when multiple synchronous states (H₁ cells) are assumed in the uncertainty region of the PN code, and when the correlator outputs of the subcarriers associated with the same phase of the local PN code replica are noncoherently combined with the aid of equal gain combining (EGC). It is demonstrated that when EGC is employed, the acquisition performance of the MC-CDMA scheme is better than that of the equivalent single-carrier CDMA benchmark scheme over the investigated multipath Nakagami fading channels