A 2-DIMENSIONAL PRODUCT CODE WITH ROBUST SOFT-DECISION DECODING

The performance of a relatively simple two-dimensional (2-D) product c ode is considered. The row code is a short constraint length convoluti onal code, and the column code is a high-rate block code, Both the row s and columns are decoded with soft-decision maximum likelihood decodi ng, The soft output Viterbi algorithm (SOVA) is used to decode the row s, In one case, the same decoder may be used for the rows and the colu mns, It is shown that, depending on the rate of the row code, reliable signaling is achieved within about 1.0 to 1.5 dB of the R(o) limit, R esults are given for a particular impulsive noise channel; it is seen that performance is robust over a wide range of channel conditions.