In
telecommunications
Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
, direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) is a
spread-spectrum modulation
Signal modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform in electronics and telecommunication for the purpose of transmitting information.
The process encodes information in form of the modulation or message ...
technique primarily used to reduce overall signal
interference. The direct-sequence modulation makes the transmitted signal wider in bandwidth than the information bandwidth.
After the despreading or removal of the direct-sequence modulation in the receiver, the information bandwidth is restored, while the unintentional and intentional interference is substantially reduced.
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
inventor,
Gustav Guanella proposed a "means for and method of secret signals".
With DSSS, the message symbols are modulated by a sequence of complex values known as ''spreading sequence''. Each element of the spreading sequence, a so-called ''chip'', has a shorter duration than the original message symbols. The modulation of the message symbols scrambles and spreads the signal in the spectrum, and thereby results in a bandwidth of the spreading sequence. The smaller the chip duration, the larger the bandwidth of the resulting DSSS signal; more bandwidth multiplexed to the message signal results in better resistance against narrowband interference.
Some practical and effective uses of DSSS include the
code-division multiple access (CDMA) method, the
IEEE 802.11b specification used in
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
networks, and the
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...
.
Transmission method
Direct-sequence spread-spectrum transmissions multiply the symbol sequence being transmitted with a spreading sequence that has a higher rate than the original message rate. Usually, sequences are chosen such that the resulting spectrum is spectrally
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
. Knowledge of the same sequence is used to reconstruct the original data at the receiving end. This is commonly implemented by the element-wise multiplication with the spreading sequence, followed by summation over a message symbol period. This process, ''despreading'', is mathematically a
correlation of the transmitted spreading sequence with the spreading sequence. In an AWGN channel, the despreaded signal's
signal-to-noise ratio
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR or S/N) is a measure used in science and engineering that compares the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. SNR is defined as the ratio of signal power to noise power, often expressed in deci ...
is increased by the spreading factor, which is the ratio of the spreading-sequence rate to the data rate.
While a transmitted DSSS signal occupies a wider bandwidth than the direct modulation of the original signal would require, its spectrum can be restricted by conventional
pulse-shape filtering.
If an undesired transmitter transmits on the same channel but with a different spreading sequence, the despreading process reduces the power of that signal. This effect is the basis for the
code-division multiple access (CDMA) method of multi-user medium access, which allows multiple transmitters to share the same channel within the limits of the
cross-correlation properties of their spreading sequences.
Benefits
* Resistance to unintended or intended
jamming
* Sharing of a single channel among multiple users
* Reduced signal/background-noise level hampers
interception
In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...
* Determination of relative timing between transmitter and receiver
Uses
* The United States
GPS, European
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
and Russian
GLONASS
GLONASS (, ; ) is a Russian satellite navigation system operating as part of a radionavigation-satellite service. It provides an alternative to Global Positioning System (GPS) and is the second navigational system in operation with global cove ...
satellite navigation systems; earlier GLONASS used DSSS with a single spreading sequence in conjunction with
FDMA, while later GLONASS used DSSS to achieve
CDMA with multiple spreading sequences.
* DS-CDMA (Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access) is a
multiple access scheme based on DSSS, by spreading the signals from/to different users with different codes. It is the most widely used type of
CDMA.
*
Cordless phones operating in the 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz
bands
*
IEEE 802.11b 2.4 GHz
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
, and its predecessor
802.11-1999. (Their successor
802.11g uses both
OFDM and DSSS)
*
Automatic meter reading
*
IEEE 802.15.4 (used, e.g., as PHY and MAC layer for
Zigbee, or, as the physical layer for
WirelessHART)
*
Radio-controlled model Automotive, Aeronautical and Marine vehicles
* Spread spectrum
radar
Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
for covertness and resistance to
jamming and
spoofing
See also
*
Complementary code keying
*
Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
*
Linear-feedback shift register
*
Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
References
The Origins of Spread-Spectrum Communications*
*
NTIA Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management
External links
Civil Spread Spectrum History
{{cdma
Computer network technology
Quantized radio modulation modes
Wireless networking
IEEE 802.11
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