Binary De Bruijn Sequences for DS-CDMA Systems: Analysis and Results

Code division multiple access (CDMA) using direct sequence (DS) spread spectrum modulation provides multiple access capability essentially thanks to the adoption of proper sequences as spreading codes. The ability of a DS-CDMA receiver to detect the desired signal relies to a great extent on the auto-correlation properties of the spreading code associated to each user; on the other hand, multi-user interference rejection depends on the cross-correlation properties of all the spreading codes in the considered set. As a consequence, the analysis of new families of spreading codes to be adopted in DS-CDMA is of great interest. This article provides results about the evaluation of specific full-length binary sequences, the De Bruijn ones, when applied as spreading codes in DS-CDMA schemes, and compares their performance to other families of spreading codes commonly used, such as m-sequences, Gold, OVSF, and Kasami sequences. While the latter sets of sequences have been specifically designed for application in multi-user communication contexts, De Bruijn sequences come from combinatorial mathematics, and have been applied in completely different scenarios. Considering the similarity of De Bruijn sequences to random sequences, we investigate the performance resulting by applying them as spreading codes. The results herein presented suggest that binary De Bruijn sequences, when properly selected, may compete with more consolidated options, and encourage further investigation activities, specifically focused on the generation of longer sequences, and the definition of correlation-based selection criteria.