Interference-Dependent Performance of Multi-User Detection in High Throughput Satellite Systems

System availability is a crucial design issue for a satellite system and depends on various factors. The design of high throughput satellites (HTS) is complicated because of multiple spot beams and increased intra-system interference levels. This fact demands for suitable interference mitigation techniques in order to cope with this situation enabling the benefit from the increased system capacity provided by HTS. This work analyzes the system throughput and availability of multi-user detection (MUD) as advanced interference mitigation technique applied in the user downlink of the satellite forward link and investigates its sensitivity w.r.t. different interference levels. Expected through-puts, achievable with MUD considering realistic interference levels within a single spot beam, are presented as well.