Efficient Post-Processors for Improving Error-Correcting Performance of LDPC Codes

The error floor phenomenon, associated with iterative decoders, is one of the most significant limitations to the applications of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. A variety of techniques from code design to decoder implementation have been proposed to address the error floor problem, among which post-processors have shown to be both effective and implementation-friendly. In this paper, we take the inspiration from simulated annealing to generalize the post-processor design using three methods: quenching, extended heating, and focused heating, each of which targets a different error structure. The resulting post-processor is demonstrated to lower the error floors by two orders of magnitude for two structured code examples, a (2209, 1978) array LDPC code and a (1944, 1620) LDPC code used by the IEEE 802.11n standard. The post-processor can be integrated with a belief-propagation decoder with minimal overhead. The post-processor design is equally applicable to other structured LDPC codes.