Abstract
M.Ing. (Electrical & Electronic Engineering)
Coding is indispensable in modem communications and storage systems. For instance, a
Reed-Solomon error-correction code ensures higher data integrity for the Compact Disc (CD)
system. Modulation codes, such as the( d, k) codes, can furthermore be employed to enable
synchronization between transmitter and receiver (or between the read and write processes in
storage systems), and also to achieve compliance with bandwidth restrictions. In some cases, a
'combined' code is designed to function both as an error control code and a (d, k) modulation
code.
In this study, we consider such an existing class of error control (d, k) block codes. Of
particular interest is the performance of these codes, determined mostly in terms of the
probability of block error over certain selected channels. It is important to be able to judge or
predict the performance of a communication system in terms of the probability of receiving
incorrect information, and this probability depends not only on the specific error control code
used, but also on the statistical structure of the channel error processes.
The main contributions of this thesis are seen to be the following:
1) New codes and improvements on previous codes, originating from the generalization of
existing theory.
2) Mathematical bounds and approximations on block error rates, compared with
measured results from computer simulations.