An efficient method for finite-length low-density parity-check (LDPC) code analysis is proposed. This method is based on studying the channel variations when observed during a finite-length codeword. To this end, channel parameters are interpreted as random variables and their distributions are found. Assuming that a decoding failure is the result of an observed channel worse than the code's decoding threshold, the block error probability of finite-length LDPC codes is estimated. Using an extrinsic information transfer chart analysis, bit error probability is obtained from the block error probability. Our results suggest that by considering only the channel variations around its expected behavior and even ignoring the effects of cycles, one can closely predict the performance of LDPC codes of a few thousand bits or longer in the waterfall region.
An efficient method for finite-length low-density parity-check (LDPC) code analysis is proposed. This method is based on studying the channel variations when observed during a finite-length codeword. To this end, channel parameters are interpreted as random variables and their distributions are found. Assuming that a decoding failure is the result of an observed channel worse than the code's decoding threshold, the block error probability of finite-length LDPC codes is estimated. Using an extrinsic information transfer chart analysis, bit error probability is obtained from the block error probability. Our results suggest that by considering only the channel variations around its expected behavior and even ignoring the effects of cycles, one can closely predict the performance of LDPC codes of a few thousand bits or longer in the waterfall region.
An efficient method for analyzing the performance of finite-length low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes in the waterfall region, when transmission takes place on a memoryless binary-input output-symmetric channel is proposed. This method is based on studying the variations of the channel quality around its expected value when observed during the transmission of a finite-length codeword. We model these variations with a single parameter. This parameter is then viewed as a random variable and its probability distribution function is obtained. Assuming that a decoding failure is the result of an observed channel worse than the codeiquests decoding threshold, the block error probability of finite-length LDPC codes under different decoding algorithms is estimated. Using an extrinsic information transfer chart analysis, the bit error probability is obtained from the block error probability. Different parameters can be used for modeling the channel variations. In this work, two of such parameters are studied. Through examples, it is shown that this method can closely predict the performance of LDPC codes of a few thousand bits or longer in the waterfall region.
Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes with very long block lengths are well known for their powerful error correction, but it is not always desirable to employ long codes in communication systems, where latency is a serious issue, such as voice and video communication between multiple users. Finite length analyses of LDPC codes have already been presented in the literature for the additive white Gaussian noise channel, but in this paper, we consider the finite length analysis of LDPC codes for channels that exhibit impulsive noise. First, an exact uncoded bit error probability (BEP) of an impulsive noise channel, modeled as a symmetric α-stable (SαS) distribution, is derived. Then, to obtain the LDPC-coded performance, density evolution is applied to evaluate the asymptotic performance of LDPC codes on SαS channels and determine the threshold signal-to-noise ratio. Finally, we derive closed-form expressions for the BEP and block error probability of short LDPC codes on these channels, which are shown to match closely with simulated results on channels with different levels of impulsiveness, even for block lengths as low as 1000 b.
This thesis addresses the topic of Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code analysis, both asymptotically and for finite block lengths. Since in general it is a difficult problem to analyze individual code instances, ensemble averages are studied by following Gallager's original idea and results of Luby et al. Often, one can relate the insights gained by studying ensemble averages to statements regarding individual codes by proving that most elements in the ensemble behave "close" to the average. One important such average is the average weight distribution, another is the average pseudo-codeword distribution, where pseudo-codewords play the same role under iterative decoding as codewords do for maximum likelihood decoding. One of the main contributions of this thesis is the calculation of such averages for fully irregular LDPC code ensembles. Much of classical coding theory is aimed at the construction of codes with large minimum distance. This is so since away from capacity accurate bounds on the performance of a code can be given in terms of its minimum distance (or more generally, in terms of its weight distribution). Therefore, it is of interest to investigate what role the minimum distance plays for iteratively decoded LDPC code ensembles. In particular, sequences of capacity-achieving LDPC code ensembles of increasing length when transmission takes place over the Binary Erasure Channel (BEC) are investigated. It is shown that, under certain technical conditions, the minimum distance of such ensembles grows sub-linearly in the block length, a result which is somewhat surprising from a classical point of view. Specific attention is also given to the design of LDPC code ensembles, where an inherent trade-off is observed between achieving large minimum distance (which is relevant for the so called error-floor regime) and achieving a large threshold (which in the limit of long block lengths determines the worst channel on which transmission can be accomplished reliably). Most results on iterative coding systems to date address their asymptotic performance, i.e., their performance when the block length tends to infinity. For small and moderate block lengths the behavior of a code can deviate significantly from its asymptotic limit. It is therefore of high practical value to be able to analyze the finite-length performance of LDPC code ensembles. In this thesis, an exact such analysis is presented for iteratively decoded LDPC code ensembles over the BEC. In particular, expressions for the exact average bit and block erasure probabilities are computed by solving a set of recursions. Such an analysis is the starting point for a finite-length optimization, a topic which is slated for future work. The methods used in this thesis include a combinatorial approach (familiar to the coding society) as well as the powerful techniques developed in the statistical physics community, for example, the replica method or the mean-field approximation. Although the statistical physics techniques are ideally suited for the analysis of iterative coding systems, they are to date only accessible to a relatively small community. Therefore, an overview of these techniques is first presented using a language familiar to the coding theory community. Next, in order to highlight the differences and common points between the combinatorial and the statistical physics approaches, both techniques are applied to the weight distribution problem. It turns out that for regular ensembles, both methods yield the same result, while for irregular ensembles, they do differ in general.
The most popular methods for the analysis of LDPC codes, e.g. density evolution and EXIT charts, apply to infinite length ensembles. Finite length analysis is less common, among the notable examples are scaling law analysis and the EXIT band chart. The scaling law is limited to the waterfall region and furthermore is limited to the final error rates and does not give insight into the progression and dynamics of belief propagation decoding. The EXIT band chart was based on empirical considerations and does not enjoy a strong underlying theory. The developments of this paper are motivated by the recent results by Polyanskiy, Poor and Verdu showing that the rate penalty due to finite blocklength depends on the channel dispersion. We propose tracking the dispersion between the transmitted bits and the log-likelihood ratio across the decoder iterations to capture the effect of the codeword length. Based on the proposed analysis, a simple lower bound on the block error probability as a function of the blocklength is derived. The bound is corroborated by simulation.
In this paper, we are concerned with the finite-length analysis of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes when used over the binary erasure channel (BEC). The main result is an expression for the exact average bit and block erasure probability for a given regular ensemble of LDPC codes when decoded iteratively. We also give expressions for upper bounds on the average bit and block erasure probability for regular LDPC ensembles and the standard random ensemble under maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding. Finally, we present what we consider to be the most important open problems in this area.
In this paper, we are concerned with the finite-length analysis of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes when used over additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels. We present the iterative decoding algorithm of LDPC codes, and we also discuss the encoding methods and the bipartite graph representation of LDPC codes ensemble. Finite-length LDPC code performances are investigated, and the influence of cycle is pointed out. Simulation results show that irregular LDPC codes with variable and check node degree distribution optimized for infinite-length codes are not optimal for finite-length LDPC codes, and the error patterns of both regular and irregular codes are investigated as an effort to improve the performance and design methodology of finite-length LDPC codes.