Superposition convolutional coded modulation for the Rayleigh fading channel

In this paper, we investigate the performance of superposition convolutional coded modulation (SCCM) for the Rayleigh fading channel. Three different practical decoding algorithms, including multi-stage Viterbi algorithm, iterative Viterbi algorithm and iterative BCJR algorithm, are (re)-derived. These algorithms vary in complexity as well as in performance, as desired for practical systems. Simulation results show that SCCM outperforms bit-interleaved convolutional coded modulation with comparable complexity in the low signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) region.