Separable concatenated convolutional codes: The structure and properties of a class of codes for iterative decoding

In this paper a brief overview of the concept of iterative processing is provided. Then a code construction for convolutional codes, that results in a signal structure amenable to iterative processing, is studied. This construction is analogous to product coding for block codes. It is shown that the construction shares a number of properties with the product coding construction, including the property that it is "commutative". The relationship between the free distance and the interleaving factors is examined, and then exemplified with computer simulation results.