Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes

Abstract

In this chapter, low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, a class of powerful iteratively decodable error correcting codes, are introduced. The chapter first reviews some basic concepts and results in information theory such as Shannon’s channel capacity and channel coding theorem. It then overviews the flash memory channel model. Next, it addresses binary LDPC codes describing both their structure and efficient implementation, and their belief propagation and reduced-complexity decoding algorithms. Non-binary LDPC codes and their belief propagation decoding algorithm are also addressed. Finally simulation results are provided.