Combined equalization and coding for high-density saturation recording channels

Combined equalization and coding approaches which significantly outperform previous techniques are presented for the binary Lorentzian channel with additive Gaussian noise. The authors develop a technique based on the concatenation of standard trellis codes with an equalization code and a block decision feedback equalizer (BDFE). Signal sets for the trellis code are generated by partitioning BDFE output vectors according to four- and eight-dimensional lattices. They also investigate the combination of a decision feedback equalizer (DFE) and a convolutional code (CC) and find that this system provides theoretical coding gains from 1 to 3 dB in the high linear recording density range of 2>