Decoding and Design of LDPC Codes for High-Order Modulations

A concatenated code model is proposed for high-order low-density parity-check (LDPC) coded modulations. A corresponding concatenated-code belief propagation (CCBP) decoding algorithm is derived for our proposed concatenated code. Moreover, the design of LDPC codes under the CCBP decoding is developed using extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) charts. Compared with other algorithms, the CCBP method provides an excellent parallel decoding process, and the EXIT-based design method offers highly accurate LDPC code ensembles. Simulation results show that the performance of the proposed CCBP algorithm is superior to that of the conventional belief propagation decoding within a wide range of modulation orders, and the EXIT-based method can design capacity-approaching LDPC codes for high-order modulations.