Generalized Spatially-Coupled Product-Like Codes Using Zipper Codes with Irregular Degree

Zipper codes with irregular variable degree are studied. Two new interleaver maps-chevron and half-chevron-are described. Simulation results with shortened double-error-correcting Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem constituent codes show that zipper codes with chevron and half-chevron interleaver maps outperform staircase codes when the rate is below 0.86 and 0.91, respectively, at 10
^-8
output bit error rate operating point. In the miscorrection-free decoding scheme, both zipper codes with chevron and half-chevron interleaver maps outperform staircase codes. However, constituent decoder miscorrections induce additional performance gaps.