Optical orthogonal codes: design, analysis and applications

An optical orthogonal code (OOC) is a family of (0,1) sequences with good auto- and cross-correlation properties, i.e the autocorrelation of each sequence exhibits the `thumbtack´ shape and the cross correlation between any two sequences remains low throughout. The use of optical orthogonal codes enables a large number of asynchronous users to transmit information efficiently and reliably. The thumbtack-shaped autocorrelation facilitates the detection of the desired signal, and low-profile cross correlation reduces interference from unwanted signals. Theoretical upper and lower bounds on the maximum possible size of OOCs are derived. Methods for the design and analysis of OOCs, using tools from projective geometry, the greedy algorithm, iterative constructions, algebraic coding theory, block design, and various other combinational disciplines, are discussed