This proposal presents a methodology to develop a next-generation digital communication system that uses chaotic signals. The use of chaotic signals in digital communication systems offers several advantages. First, the noise-like properties of chaotic signals, both in their time- and frequency-domain representations, prevent them from being easily detected, giving greater immunity from eavesdropping and interception compared to spread-spectrum communication systems that use binary spreading sequences. Second, an infinite number of chaotic spreading waveforms can be generated, each with strong autocorrelation properties and weak cross-correlation properties; hence, a theoretically infinite number of users can be supported on a particular band, with minimum interference from other channels. Third, chaotic signals possess the salient features of broadband communication systems such as multipath mitigation and resistance to jamming. The proposed Phase I effort aims to analyze the feasibility of using chaotic signals in satellite digital communication systems through a software simulation approach. Three modulation/demodulation schemes will be programmed in MATLAB. Their performance will be evaluated under different criteria such as signal-to-noise ratio and the presence of jamming. These systems allow a straightforward hardware implementation for commercialization purposes; the hardware design steps are outlined as part of the proposed Phase I Option effort.
Keywords: Chaos, Chaotic Communication, Digital Communication, Satellite Communication, Spread Spectrum Communication
