Performance evaluation for ML sequence detection in ISI channels with Gauss Markov Noise

TL;DR

This paper derives an analytical upper bound on the bit error rate for ML sequence detection in ISI channels with Gauss-Markov noise, providing a computationally efficient alternative to simulations especially at high SNR.

Contribution

It introduces a novel analytical upper bound on BER for Viterbi detection in Gauss-Markov noise channels, improving accuracy and efficiency over existing methods.

Findings

The upper bound is tight in high SNR regimes.

The bound can replace simulations for BER estimation at high SNR.

The analysis accounts for asymmetry in pairwise error probabilities.

Abstract

Inter-symbol interference (ISI) channels with data dependent Gauss Markov noise have been used to model read channels in magnetic recording and other data storage systems. The Viterbi algorithm can be adapted for performing maximum likelihood sequence detection in such channels. However, the problem of finding an analytical upper bound on the bit error rate of the Viterbi detector in this case has not been fully investigated. Current techniques rely on an exhaustive enumeration of short error events and determine the BER using a union bound. In this work, we consider a subset of the class of ISI channels with data dependent Gauss-Markov noise. We derive an upper bound on the pairwise error probability (PEP) between the transmitted bit sequence and the decoded bit sequence that can be expressed as a product of functions depending on current and previous states in the (incorrect) decoded sequence and the (correct) transmitted sequence. In general, the PEP is asymmetric. The average BER over all possible bit sequences is then determined using a pairwise state diagram. Simulations results which corroborate the analysis of upper bound, demonstrate that analytic bound on BER is tight in high SNR regime. In the high SNR regime, our proposed upper bound obviates the need for computationally expensive simulation.