A NEW METHOD FOR CALCULATING PROBABILITIES OF ERRORS DUE TO IMPULSIVE NOISE

A new approach to the prediction of error rates in digital data transmission systems when the dominant source of errors is given by noise bursts, each having a flat spectrum across the band of interest, is described. Specifically, a hierarchy of phase-averaged conditional error probabilities called kth receiver impulse characteristics (RIC) are denned, which depend only on the receiver's structure. Error probabilities are then computed by averaging the RICs over the statistics of the impulsive noise which is characterized at the RF input of the receiver. To illustrate the approach in a practical, interesting situation, a detailed analysis is carried out for a phase-shift keyed system employing either a linear or a hard-limiting receiver, and for impulse rates small enough that errors are essentially caused by single impulses. Copyright © 1969 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.