The partial-period autocorrelation of sequences is an important performance measure of communication systems employing them, but it is notoriously difficult to be analyzed. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to design unimodular sequences with low partial-period autocorrelations via directly minimizing the partial-period integrated sidelobe level (PISL). The proposed algorithm is inspired by the monotonic minimizer for integrated sidelobe level (MISL) algorithm. Then an acceleration scheme is considered to further accelerate the algorithms. Numerical experiments show that the proposed algorithm can effectively generate sequences with lower partial-period peak sidelobe level (PPSL) compared with the well-known Zadoff-Chu sequences.

Barker sequences have been used in many existing communications and ranging systems. Unfortunately, the longest known biphase and quadriphase Barker sequences are of lengths 13 and 15, respectively. In this paper, we introduce the so-called quasi-Barker sequences which achieve the minimum peak sidelobe level one within a certain window centered at the mainlobe. As our key results, all the best biphase and quadriphase quasi-Barker sequences of lengths up to 36 and 21, respectively, were obtained by an efficient computer search. These sequences may provide better multipath resistance and tracking accuracy in ranging applications.