Free distance bounds for convolutional codes

The best asymptotic bounds presently known on free distance for convolutional codes are presented from a unified point of view. Upper and lower bounds for both time-varying and fixed codes are obtained. A comparison is made between bounds for nonsystematic and systematic codes which shows that more free distance is available with nonsystematic codes. This result is important when selecting codes for use with sequential or maximum-likelihood (Viterbi) decoding since the probability of decoding error is closely related to the free distance of the code. An ancillary result, used in proving the lower bound on free distance for time-varying nonsystematic codes, furnishes a generalization of two earlier bounds on the definite decoding minimum distance of convolutional codes.