Robust detectors for code acquisition with BOC modulation for GNSS receivers

This paper focuses on the problem of code acquisition for Binary Offset Carrier (BOC) modulated signals in the presence of fractional timing misalignment. An efficient and robust detector, identified as the Quadribranch detector, is compared with state-of-the-art solutions for the Galileo signal in E1 band, in order to evaluate the effects of timing error and to evaluate the possible countermeasures. The comparison shows that, for code acquisition purposes, the Quadribranch guarantees a considerable performance improvement.