A methodology for the design of M-PSK codes for the Rayleigh fading channel
optimised for a specific target BER is proposed, using the framework of mu
ltilevel coded modulation. The principle is to equalise the BER at each sta
ge of a multistage decoder. An 8-PSK code is designed which exceeds the per
formance of the code of Seshadri and Sundberg by 2.4dB at BER = 10(-3), as
well as 16-PSK codes optimised for BERs of 10(-3) and 10(-6). No additional
interleaver delay is introduced beyond that required by the channel.