Acquisition Time Performance of PN Spread-Spectrum Systems

This paper develops the mean and variance of the time to acquire for single dwell time PN-type spread-spectrum systems. A model is specified, and then exact results are obtained by use of the generating function for the acquisition process. The paper is somewhat tutorial in that the analysis technique is developed in a logical step-to-step manner for the Markov chain model and can be readily used on other models. The effects of Doppler and other imperfections of the original model are discussed. Finally the results of the double dwell time system are presented and the appropriate modifications for Doppler effect are given.