An Efficient VLSI Architecture for Nonbinary LDPC Decoders

Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes constructed over the Galois field $ hbox{GF}(q)$, which are also called nonbinary LDPC codes, are an extension of binary LDPC codes with significantly better performance. Although various kinds of low-complexity quasi-optimal iterative decoding algorithms have been proposed, the VLSI implementation of nonbinary LDPC decoders has rarely been discussed due to their hardware unfriendly properties. In this brief, an efficient selective computation algorithm, which totally avoids the sorting process, is proposed for Min–Max decoding. In addition, an efficient VLSI architecture for a nonbinary Min–Max decoder is presented. The synthesis results are given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed techniques.