On the performance of rate 1/2 convolutional codes with QPSK on Rician fading channels

Consideration is given to the bit error probability performance of rate 1/2 convolutional codes in conjunction with quaternary phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation and maximum-likelihood Viterbi decoding on fully interleaved Rician fading channels. Applying the generating function union bounding approach, an asymptotically tight analytic upper bound on the bit error probability performance is developed under the assumption of using the Viterbi decoder with perfect fading amplitude measurement. Bit error probability performance of constraint length K=3-7 codes with QPSK is numerically evaluated using the developed bound. Tightness of the bound is examined by means of computer simulation. The influence of perfect amplitude measurement on the performance of the Viterbi decoder is observed. A performance comparison with rate 1/2 codes with binary phase shift keying (BPSK) is provided. >