Polar Codes for Low-Complexity Forward Error Correction in Optical Access Networks

Optical communication systems operating at high data rates require forward error correction (FEC) to achieve reliable communication at improved power efficiency. However, telecommunications equipment in optical access networks can only accommodate restricted hardware complexity. In this contribution we study Polar codes, a recently proposed class of error-correcting codes with advantageous properties in terms of their structure, complexity and design method. We investigate if Polar codes can compete with existing ITU G.975.1 standard FEC schemes and identify the challenges which need to be tackled when implementing hardware decoders.