DIGITAL SPREAD

SPECTRUM SYSTEMS
Wright State University
James P. Stephens

ENG-737
FREQUENCY HOPPING
Data is sent during the dwell time of a frequency hopping radio
Modulation is typically Binary FSK
The frequency shift is small compared to the frequency hop center
frequency channels
If the data is voice as in a tactical military radio or cordless telephone,
it is digitized according to some digital voice standard (vocoder)
Various vocoders have been adopted, but a common speech vocoder
is known as CVSD (continuously variable, slope, delta) modulation
Often, forward error correction (FEC) is employed, however, speech
can tolerate considerable disruption before speech becomes
unintelligible
Speech data must be compressed to allow continuous transmission
during time transmitter is transitioning to a new frequency

CVSD speech ASICs often use 16 kbps, typically, for high
quality speech
If we wish to use employ frequency hopping, how much
compression must we use?
Assume the channel bandwidth (demodulator) can only support
20 kbps
Then 16K/20K = 0.80 80% duty cycle
If we need to send 100 bits per dwell, what is our hop rate?
100 bits (1/20K) = 5 ms (Dwell time)
5 ms / 0.8 = 6.25 ms (Hop time) 160 hps



FREQUENCY HOPPING
Example
100 data bits
5 ms
6.25 ms
A FH transmitter dwells for a period t
1
(time per hop)
at each center frequency
Hopping takes place over M frequencies
P
G
= T
d
BW
ss
= number of frequencies (M) ( for FH)
Example:
Assume contiguous coverage, BW
ss
= 20 MHz
N = 1000 frequencies
N = 10 log 1000 = 30 dB
If 20 MHz / 1000 = 20 kHz channel bandwidth (contiguous)
P
G
= 20 MHz / 20 KHz = 1000 = 30 dB
But not so if channels overlap or are non-contiguous
FREQUENCY HOPPING
Clarifying Processing Gain
FREQUENCY HOPPER
RECEIVER
Sync is usually
based on time-of-
day and
correlation
1 . . . . .k
h
t
(t)
s
t
(t)
The frequency synthesizer output is a sequence of tones of
duration T
c
, therefore,

h
t
(t) = 2p(t nT
c
) cos(e
n
t + |
n
)
n = -
where p(t) is a unit amplitude pulse of duration T
c
starting at
time t = 0

e
n
t and |
n
are the radian frequency and phase during the nth
frequency hop interval

The frequency e
n
is taken from a set of 2
k
frequencies

FREQUENCY HOPPER
RECEIVER
The transmitted signal is the data modulated carrier
up-converted to a new frequency ( e
0
+ e
n
) for each
FH chip

s
t
(t) = [ s
d
(t) 2p(t nT
c
) cos(e
n
t + |
n
) ]
n = -

The transmitted power spectrum is the frequency
convolution of S
d
(f) and H
t
(f)

FREQUENCY HOPPER
RECEIVER
Example:

FH, 250 hps, 2 ms dwell time, 48 bits per dwell
Hop time = 1 /250 = 4 ms
d
s
= 48 / 2 ms = 24 kbps (signaling rate during a dwell)
d
r
= 48 / 4 ms = 12 kbps (channel rate throughput)

Minimum spacing for FSK tones are:
1 / T = 24 kHz (non-coherent FSK)
1 / 2T = 48 kHz (coherent FSK)
FREQUENCY HOPPER
RECEIVER
FREQUENCY
SYNTHESIZERS
There are two fundamental techniques for implementing frequency
synthesis:
Direct
Indirect
In the direct implementation, a number of frequencies are mixed
together in various combinations to give all of the sum and difference
frequencies:
Example:
cos(2te
1
) cos(2te
2
) = 1/2 cos(2t (e
1
- e
2
)) + 1/2 cos(2t (e
1
+ e
2
))

The selection is made based upon a digital control word as to which
filters pass the selected tone
The direct implementation becomes very difficult when a large number
of frequencies must be used
Size and weight of the filters are major factors in the choice to use this
technique
SIMPLE DIRECT FREQUENCY
SYNTHESIZER
BASIC ADD-AND-DIVIDE
FREQUENCY SYNTHESIZER
A control word selects the gate
on f
2
f
m
which are mixed with
a reference frequency which
usually specifies the frequency
separation or spacing
INDIRECT SYNTHESIZERS
Any synthesizer that employs a phase-locked loop is called an
indirect synthesizer
The output of the phase detector is filtered and drives a
variable controlled oscillator (VCO)
The phase detector drives the oscillator in the direction
necessary to make A| = 0
Any change causes the VCO to change in the opposite
direction, thereby keeping the device locked to the input
Frequency synthesis is accomplished by adding a divide-by-n
block in the feedback path
The VCO will lock to a multiple of the reference selected by n
BASIC INDIRECT FREQUENCY
SYNTHESIZER
The divide-by-n is
changed digitally by
the code generator
to select another
output frequency
NUMERICALLY CONTROLLED
OSCILLATORS (NCO)
More recent technique of frequency synthesizers are NCOs,
also called direct digital synthesizers (DDS)
DDSs are available as ASICs, see appendix 9 in text
NCOs are available as FPGA cores, i.e. drop-in modules
These devices simply have a sinusoid stored into memory that
is outputted when selected.
One such device uses a 32-bit tuning word to provide 0.0291 Hz
tuning resolution and can change frequencies 23 million times
per second, i.e.43 ns switching time
These devices can control the phase, often with 5-bits, in
increments of 180, 90, 45, 22.5, 11.25 degrees or combinations
there of

BASIC NUMERICALLY
CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR
DIRECT DIGITAL
SYNTHESIZER
MULTIPLE CORRELATORS FOR
FREQUENCY HOPPING
ACQUISITION
MULTIPLE CORRELATORS
FOR FREQUENCY HOPPING
ACQUISITION
3 2 1 0
f
1
f
2
f
3
f
4
4
f
4
f
1
f
2
f
3
0
f
3
f
4
f
1
f
2
0
f
2
f
3
f
4
f
1
0
f
1
f
2
f
3
f
4
4
Let f
1
= 101 MHz
f
2
= 107 MHz
f
3
= 105 MHz
f
4
= 103 MHz
3
0
1
2

Delay
Outcomes
Time Delay
f
1

f
2

f
3

f
4

REVISITING PROCESSING
GAIN
What is processing gain?
From Peterson / Ziemer / Borth:
The amount of performance improvement that is achieved through the use of
spread spectrum is defined as processing gain
That effectively means that processing gain is the difference between
a system using spread spectrum and system performance when not
using spread spectrum. . .all else equal
An approximation is:
G
p
= BW
ss
/ r
i

Some authors use other definitions
Some system marketers use improper definitions just to make their
system sound superior to competitors
The particular definition chosen is of little consequence as long as it is
understood that real system performance is the primary concern
We could define processing gain as:
G
p
= t
d
/ t
c

Where t
d
is the data bit time and t
c
is the chip time
In the case of frequency hopping, a jammer or interferer can place all
of his energy on a single narrowband signal, therefore, if the signal
hops over M frequencies, the jammer must distribute power over all M
frequencies with 1/M watts on each frequency
Therefore, G
p
= M = BW
ss
/ BW
d
(frequency hopping)
however, we must assume contiguous, non-overlapping frequencies
If overlapping occurs, G
p
is reduced because the jammer can affect
performance in adjacent channels. Thus G
p
must be reduced by the
amount of the overlap
If non-contiguous, G
p
> M if jammer does not know system
channelization since power will be wasted in regions where hopper
never transmits
REVISITING PROCESSING
GAIN (Cont.)
Sklar defines processing gain as:
How much protection spreading can provide against
interfering signal with finite power
Spread spectrum distributes a relatively low-dimensional signal
into a large-dimensional signal space
The signal is thereby hidden so to speak in the signal space
since the jammer does not know how to find it
Dixon, however is not very consistent:
Page 6 A signal-to-noise advantage gained by modulation
and demodulation process is called process gain
Page 10 What is really meant by G
p
in spread spectrum is
actually jamming margin
G
p
= BW
ss
/ BW
inf
(which assumes BW
inf
= R
inf
(1 Hz/bit))

REVISITING PROCESSING
GAIN (Cont.)
Note if:

G
p
= BW
ss
/ BW
inf
= BW
ss
/ R
inf


where R
inf
= 1 / T
d


Then G
p
= T
d
BW
ss
(time-bandwidth product)



REVISITING PROCESSING
GAIN (Cont.)
Example:

Assume contiguous coverage for a frequency hopping radio
BW
ss
= 20 MHz, N = 1000 frequencies
G
p
= N = 10 log 1000 = 30 dB

If
20x10
6
/ 1000 = 20 kHz channelization
G
p
= 20x10
6
/ 20x10
3
= 1000 = 30 dB

But not equivalent if channels overlap or are non-contiguous
REVISITING PROCESSING
GAIN (Cont.)
COUNTERMEASURES
To interfere with the enemys effective
use of the electromagnetic spectrum
Communications jamming involves the
disruption of information, i.e. voice,
video, digital command/control signals
Rule One: Jam receiver, not the
transmitter


Electronic Attack (EA)
JAMMING MARGIN
In general, the major factors which influence communicating in
a jamming environment are:

1. Processing Gain
2. Antenna gain (Tx, Rx, and jammer)
3. Power (Tx and jammer)
4. Receiver sensitivity and performance
5. Geometrical channel

Item 5 deals with issues such as directivity and line-of-sight
features. Adaptive array processing and null steering are used
to gain directivity advantages over a jammer or group of
jammers
SIGNAL-TO-JAMMING RATIO
Assume the jammer power dominates thermal noise (AWGN)
The free-space propagation equation is:

(S/J)
R
= P
T
G
T
G
R
d
J
2
/ P
J
G
J
d
T
2


G
R
is the ratio of gain in the direction of the communication
transmitter to gain in the jammer direction

Tx
J
Rx
G
T
G
J
P
T
P
J
d
J
d
T
G
R
Since,
(E
b
/J
o
) = (S/J)
R
P
G

Where,
(S/J)
R
= the received signal energy-to-noise power spectral
density ratio

Then,
(E
b
/J
o
)
min
required to achieve an acceptable P
E
performance
must satisfy:

(E
b
/J
o
)
min
s P
T
G
T
G
R
P
G
d
J
2
/ P
J
G
J
d
T
2

Therefore, to improve performance we can increase P
T
, G
T
, G
R
, P
G
, or d
J

Or decrease P
J
, G
J
, or d
T


SIGNAL-TO-JAMMING RATIO
(Cont.)
JAMMING STRATEGIES
Noise
Barrage
Partial Band
Narrowband
Tone
Single
Multiple
Swept
Pulsed
Smart
Synchronized (coherent repeater)
Non-synchronized (spectral
matching)
Knowledge based
PROBABILITY OF BER
VERSUS SNR
BER
SNR (E
b
/N
0
)
Digital signals
are highly
susceptible to
gradual
degradation
KNOWLEDGE POWER
RELATIONSHIP IN JAMMING
Brute
Force
J amming
Smart /
Responsive
J amming
Knowledge Required About Victim
Power
Required
to Jam
Victim
JAMMING TECHNIQUES
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS
FULL BAND NOISE
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS

PARTIAL BAND NOISE
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS
NARROW BAND NOISE
JAMMING TECHNIQUES
(Cont)
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS

STEPPED NOISE
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS

PARTIAL BAND TONES
G
1

G
3

G
2

W
SS

STEPPED TONES
JAMMING TECHNIQUES
(Cont)
Noise jammer rejected
by receiver
DSSS IMMUNITY TO
WIDEBAND NOISE
X
LPF DEMOD
Local Code
Post Correlation
Filter
DSSS signal
Wideband Noise
W
W W
R
Least power efficient technique but more covert than CW
Requires no knowledge of signal
High collateral damage (fratricide)
Jamming power may be adjusted for gradual degradation
DSSS Performance in
Broadband Noise Jamming
where
J/S = jamming/signal ratio
Gp = processing gain
For BPSK
modulation
:
For No+Jo

|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
DSSS Performance in
Broadband Noise Jamming
DSSS IMMUNITY TO CW
CW Interferer rejected
by receiver
X
LPF DEMOD
Local Code
Post Correlation
Filter
DSSS signal
CW Tone
W
W W
R
Requires high power to overcome DSSS processing gain
More power efficient than wideband noise
Non-covert, target may employ filter to remove jammer
u
N = Processing gain S = signal power
Pt = noise power Tb= data bit duration
= phase angle difference between jammer and target signal
= frequency difference between jammer and target signal
Pj = power of jammer tone

u

DSSS Performance in
Tone Jamming
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe
|
|
.
|

\
|
=
o
b
N
E 2
Q Pe

DSSS Performance in
Tone Jamming

for 0<p<1
if Jo >>No
and 1
and
Po for optimal Pe :
DSSS Performance in
Pulse Jamming

DSSS Performance in
Pulse Jamming
1. Most effective (non-adaptive) technique is provided by
single-tone jammer at or near the carrier frequency
This stresses the carrier suppression of balanced demodulators
CCM
Use an adaptive notch filter to delete the tone
Detect the tone by a PLL and then subtract it from the signal or
spatially null the jammer
2. Decipher the PN code, replicate it as a jamming signal
which will not be eliminated by the processing gain
Most effective if jammer can become synchronized to the
receiver
CCM
Make the PN code generators programmable so that the code can
be readily changed or use complex, adaptive, codes




JAMMING STRATEGIES
AGAINST DSSS
JAMMING STRATEGIES
AGAINST DSSS (Cont.)
3. Determine the carrier frequency and chip rate, then jam
with a PN signal having these parameters (spectral
matching)
Less effective than 1) or 2), but more difficult to counter
CCM - Use an adaptive code rates (ditter)
4. Attack the acquisition process using a combination of 1)
or 3)
CCM Use short code for quick acquisition, then switch to
longer code
5. Pulse jamming and swept jamming at the carrier
frequency
Generally less effective than other methods
Can be vary effective against AGC and tracking loops of target
receiver if knowledge of receiver design is known
CCM Use interleaving and error corrective coding




1. Repeater jamming which involves intercepting signal, determining the
center frequency, and transmitting a tone at that carrier frequency
Very effective against slower FH systems
CCM
Increase hop rate
2. Partial band or multitone
Jammer places a series of tones across bandwidth where the received
power per jamming tone exceeds the systems received power per hop
CCM
Use error corrective coding with interleaving
3. Swept frequency
Increases the BER, but is less effective than 1) or 2)
CCM
Use error corrective coding with interleaving

Note: Generally speaking, FH systems are less susceptible to attacks on
acquisition than are DSSS
JAMMING STRATEGIES
AGAINST FH
THE TACTICAL SCENARIO
Hopper Link
Jamming Link
Monitor Link
GEOMETRY FOR FREQUENCY
HOP REPEAT JAMMER
Jammer
Transmitter
Receiver
d
1

d
3

d
2

T
h
is the hopping period and o is the fraction of hopping period
within which the jammer must operate to be effective (Typically 50%
of the dwell time)
Jamming time
T
h

o
For jamming to be effective we must have:

d
2
+ d
3
d
1

GEOMETRY FOR FREQUENCY
HOP REPEAT JAMMER
c c
+ t
p
s + (1 - o ) T
h

Where,
t
p
= jammer processing time
c = speed of light (3 x 10
8
m/sec)
(1 - o) = fraction of dwell to be jammed
Source: Modern Communications J amming Principles and Techniques - Poisel
Propagatio
n time for
Jammer
HOP RATE VERSUS
STAND-OFF DISTANCE