MLSE equalization and decoding for multipath-fading channels

A combined MLSE (maximum likelihood sequence estimation) equalizer and decoder with D-diversity reception is analyzed for slowly time-varying frequency-selective Rayleigh fading channels. An upper bound on the (decoded) bit error probability is derived. This bound is tight for high signal-to-noise ratios or when diversity reception is employed. A method based on a one-directional stack algorithm is proposed for calculating the bound that efficiently uses computer memory. Two systems have been analyzed using this procedure and compared with computer simulations: BPSK (binary phase shift keying) with a three-tap channel and coded quadrature PSK with a two-tap channel.<>