The performance of a direct-sequence spread ultrawideband system in the presence of multipath, narrowband interference, and multiuser interference

Abstract

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, typically characterized by the transmission of very short impulses, is, by its nature, a spread spectrum system. However, it can also be combined with more traditional spread spectrum techniques, like CDMA to improve the multiple access capability. Much of the published research to date has focused primarily on the use of time-hopping, but direct sequence spreading could also be used with UWB waveforms. This paper characterizes the performance of a direct sequence (DS) UWB system in the presence of multipath and "narrowband" interference (NBI), and shows the importance of the spreading code design and potential sensitivity to certain forms of narrowband interference (NBI).