Abstract
Turbo codes, proposed by Berrou, Glavieux, and Thitimajshima in 1993, have been perhaps the most exciting development in coding theory in recent years. Due to the powerful coding gain and acceptable decoding complexity, wireless communication systems, like the $3^{rd}$ Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), seriously consider utilizing the turbo code as the forward error correcting code. In this thesis, in addition to analysis of the prime interleaver (PIL) which is employed as the internal interleaver of the turbo code in 3GPP, a modified PIL is proposed to yield better bit error rate (BER) performance than PIL. Furthermore, several interleaver parameters are utilized to examine several previously proposed interleavers. Most important of all, we propose a fast comparison algorithm to evaluate the BER performance of turbo codes with different interleavers. The comparison algorithm offers a time-efficient method to judge performances between distinct interleavers without complicated software simulations. Finally, computer simulations of turbo codes with several interleavers under distinct interleaver sizes are conducted, and the estimation results are validated.