Coded Phase/Frequency Modulation

Channel coding combined with expanded signal sets has been shown [1] to improve error performance over uncoded modulation without expanding the bandwidth of the transmitted signals. In this paper, new coded modulation formats defined over an expanded set of signals varying both in phase and frequency are presented. The new schemes combine FSK and PSK modulation and make use of trellis coding and Viterbi decoding to improve error performance over uncoded modulation. The free Euclidean distance is calculated for several classes of codes, and upper bounds and simulation results are also presented for some simple codes. The spectral characteristics of the proposed coded modulation formats are evaluated and compared to conventional two-dimensional modulation formats. Differential encoding and various extensions of the basic scheme are also discussed.