Data decoding apparatus and method in a communication system

Abstract

A majority voting Viterbi decoder includes a branch metric calculator (BMC) for measuring a difference between a received symbol and a reference symbol and outputting branch metrics from the difference; an add-compare-selection (ACS) unit for determining an optimal path using the branch metrics; a survival path memory unit for outputting decoded symbols by performing decoding based on the optimal path; and a majority voting unit for determining a final decoded symbol by performing majority voting for the decoded symbols output from the survival path memory unit. Accordingly, by adding the majority voting unit, a decoding depth can be reduced without the loss of an encoding gain required in a system, and by reducing the decoding depth, miniaturization is possible, power consumption can be reduced, and a processing delay in a memory can be minimized.

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