Iterative equalization, decoding, and soft diversity combining for underwater acoustic channels

Abstract

The performance of iterative equalization, decoding, and soft diversity combining in underwater acoustic channels is studied. A decision feedback equalizer (DFE) is employed instead of a MAP equalizer to reduce the complexity of the iterative algorithm. The performance of a soft diversity combining scheme, where multiple DFEs are employed for spatial diversity or time diversity as well as a DFE with multiple feedforward filters is presented. The proposed receiver structures are tested and compared using experimental data.