Non-Linearized Amplifier and Advanced Mitigation Techniques: DVB-S2X Spectral Efficiency Improvement

The latest standardization DVB-S2X increases the achievable spectral efficiency of the satellite communications by around 15% in AWGN channel. In order to benefit from those improvements, the strong non-linear distortions introduced by the payload have to be overcome, mostly taking high back-off on the amplifier operation point. Nowadays, on- board amplifiers are linearized before being deployed, allowing low-complexity transmitters and receivers at the detriment of the payload's cost and reduced energy efficiency. In this paper, various techniques are investigated for the purpose of spectral efficiency improvement while releasing the amplifier linearization constraint. Iterative pre-distortion at the transmitter, turbo- equalization at the receiver and appropriate waveforms for transmission through non-linearized payload appear as strong candidates considering the results of this study.