A Hybrid Early Decision-Probability Propagation Decoding Algorithm for Low-Density Parity-Check Codes

Low-density parity-check codes have recently received extensive attention as a forward error correction scheme in a wide area of applications. The decoding algorithm is inherently parallelizable, allowing communication at high speeds. One of the main disadvantages, however, is large memory requirements for interim storing of decoding data. In this paper, we investigate the performance of a hybrid decoding algorithm, using an approximating early decision algorithm and a regular probability propagation algorithm. When the early decision algorithm fails, the block is re-decoded using a probability propagation decoder. As almost all errors are detectable, the error correction performance of the hybrid algorithm is negligibly detonated. However, simulations still achieve a 32% decrease of memory accesses