Soft-decision Decoding of Block Codes using the k Shortest Paths Algorithm

In this paper, we develop a soft-decision decoding algorithm for block codes using the k shortest paths algorithm. The performance of this algorithm is investigated and compared with other decoding schemes. The results show the proposed algorithm gives large gains over the generalised minimum distance (GMD) decoding algorithm and algebraic hard-decision decoding. Further, the proposed algorithm achieves near-MLD performance for the codes simulated. An investigation of the complexity of this algorithm shows the proposed algorithm to be computationally more efficient than the standard order-l reprocessing algorithm