Unambiguous tracking method based on a new combination function for BOC signals

The auto-correlation function (ACF) of Binary Offset Carrier (BOC) modulated signals has multiple peaks which raise the problem of ambiguity in acquisition and tracking. In this paper, the ACF is split into several sub-correlation functions (SCFs) through dividing the integration period of ACF into several partials. Then a pseudo correlation function (PCF) is constructed from the SCFs through a combination function to eliminate all side-peaks. The unambiguous tracking method based on the PCF achieves better code phase tracking accuracy than the conventional methods in AWGN environment. It only requires half computation cost of Bump-Jumping (BJ) and nearly quarter of Double-Estimator, although offers slightly less accurate tracking than BJ and Double-Estimator in multi-path environment. Moreover, this method suits all kinds of BOC signals without any auxiliary correlators.