CAREER: The Design of Resource-Efficient Communications Systems by Combining Decision Feedback with Error-Control Coding

通信技术的无所不在日益明显。随着每个市场中客户数量的增长，以及他们对越来越高的数据速率的需求，尽可能高效地利用可用资源（如功率和带宽）的需求变得至关重要。通常，一个接近理论极限的通信系统需要一个计算复杂度大得令人望而却步的接收器。为了降低复杂性，通常将接收器的一部分线性化，但这可能会严重降低系统性能，相对于理论潜力。然而，有一类非线性接收器被称为决策反馈接收器，其复杂性基本上不超过线性接收器，但其性能通常更接近于最优接收器。本研究探讨决策反馈接收器结构作为实现资源高效通信系统的实用手段。这项研究也被纳入了各级学生的教育活动中。在课堂上，在暑期工作计划中，以及通过高级论文指导，有目的地向本科生介绍研究的各个方面。这使他们在技术上和动力上为进入工业界继续研究生院的学习做好了准备。无论研究生选择在工业界还是学术界工作，都为他们提供了一个有利于在令人兴奋的通信领域进行高质量研究的环境。这项研究的技术方面包括三个组成部分。首先，至少在原则上确定了如何将决策反馈接收器与各种重要通信通道的错误控制编码相结合。然后，在这些决策反馈框架内，推导了可用资源与系统需求之间的分析关系，设计了资源高效的系统。最后，从理论上的随机码过渡到实际的编码器和解码器，并在软件中进行模拟。这些调查共同提供了在节约资源方面效率很高的通信系统，但其复杂性又低到可以执行。

The ubiquity of communications technology is becoming more evidentevery day. As the number of customers grows within each market, alongwith their demand for higher and higher data rates, the need to use available resources such as power and bandwidth as efficiently as possible becomes paramount. Typically a communications system that is operating near theoretical limits requires a receiver whose computational complexityis prohibitively large. To reduce complexity, it is common to linearizea portion of the receiver but this can severely reduce system performancerelative to theoretical potential. However, there is a class of nonlinearreceivers known as decision-feedback receivers whose complexity is essentially no more than that of linear receivers but whose performance is often much closer to that of optimal receivers. This research explores the decision-feedback receiver structure as a practical means of realizing resource-efficient communications systems. The research is also integrated into educational activities at all student levels. Aspects of the research are purposefully introduced to undergraduate students in the classroom,during summer work programs, and through senior-level thesis advising. This prepares them both technically and motivationally to enter industryor to pursue further studies in graduate school. Graduate students areprovided an environment conducive to doing quality research in the exciting field of communications, whether they choose careers in industry or academia.The technical aspects of the research involve three components. First, it is determined, at least in principle, how to combine a decision-feedback receiver with error-control coding for a variety of important communications channels. Then, within these decision-feedback frameworks analytical relationships between available resources and system requirements are derived, and resource-efficient systems are designed. Lastly, the transition is made from theoretical random codes to actual encoders and decoders that are simulated in software. Together these investigations provide communications systems that are highly efficient in regard to their conservation of resources, yet with low enough complexity to be amenable to implementation.