| Abstract: | Digital satellite communication systems use coherent quaternary PSK (QPSK) as the preferred modulation scheme. In recent years, however, the search for bandwidth and power-efficient digital modulation methods has become an active research area. In this paper the performances of combined coding and modulation schemes employing multilevel signal alphabets are considered, in the framework of a system model which reasonably approximates the INTELSAT SCPC system. The main goal of the research was to investigate whether the efficiency of coded modulation schemes and their savings in transmitted power could be maintained in a system environment dominated by interference more than by the additive white Gaussian noise. A second goal was to compare the performance of signals with constant envelope, such as multilevel PSK, with that of signals allowing variations in amplitude, such as multilevel PSK, with that of signals allowing variations in amplitude, such as multilevel QAM. In the paper, we propose a channel model which is reasonably close to the real system, and a method for performance evaluation leading to an estimate of the asymptotic power gain of the modulation systems. The channel model and the method are applied to the analysis of coded 16- and 32- PSK and QAM. |
