Constrained Coding for the Deep-Space Optical Channel

We investigate methods of coding for a channel subject to a large dead-time constraint, i.e., a constraint on the minimum spacing between transmitted pulses, with the deep-space optical channel as the motivating example. Several constrained codes designed to satisfy the dead-time constraint are considered and compared on the basis of throughput, complexity, and decoded error rate. The performance of an iteratively decoded serial concatenation of a constrained code with an outer code is evaluated and shown to provide significant gains over a Reed–Solomon code concatenated with pulse-position modulation.