Multi-level channel codes based on partitioning
Summary form only given, as follows. Imai and Hirakawa have proposed a multilevel coding method based on binary block codes that admits a staged decoding procedure. This method has been extended to the design of codes for the Gaussian channel by Ginzburg and Tanner. The authors show that coset codes (including lattice, Ungerboeck, and binary codes) and indeed any codes which rely on a partitioning of the signal set may be described by one formalism, and all can be used in a multilevel scheme. The combination of such codes in a multilevel scheme often leads to reduced decoding complexity for the same performance as previously published schemes. The authors discuss some alternatives to the staged decoding structure, and the tradeoffs involved. They present as examples powerful multi-level schemes for the Gaussian channel and for channels that are subject to both Gaussian and impulsive noise.
