DSD (Double Soft Decision) Concatenated FEC Scheme in Mobile Satellite Communication Systems

In order to realize a higher-code-gain forward error correction scheme in mobile satellite communication systems, a novel concatenated coding scheme employing soft decision decoding for not only inner codes but also outer codes (double soft decision, or DSD, concatenated forward error correction scheme) is proposed. Soft-decision outer decoding can improve the bit error probability of inner decoded data. In this scheme, likelihood information from an inner Viterbi decoder is used in the decoding of outer codes. A technique using the path memory circuit status 1.0 ratio for likelihood information is proposed, and is shown to be the most reliable even though it requires the simplest hardware among the alternative methods. A computer simulation clarifies that the DSD scheme improves Pe performance to one-third of that of the conventional hard-decision outer decoding. Moreover, to reduce the interleaving delay time in fading channels or inner decoded data of concatenated codes, a parallel forward error correction scheme is proposed. >