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IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems proceedings

A New Probabilistic Gradient Descent Bit Flipping Decoder for LDPC Codes

Hangxuan Cui, Jun Ting Lin, Suwen Song, Zhongfeng Wang

Published May 1, 2019• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Probabilistic gradient descent bit-flipping (PGDBF) is the state-of-the-art hard-decision algorithm for decoding low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes on binary symmetric channel (BSC). However, there still exists a considerable performance gap between the PGDBF algorithm and soft-decision algorithms, especially in the error-floor region. To bridge this performance gap, a tabu-list aided PGDBF (T-PGDBF) algorithm is proposed in this paper. In the T-PGDBF algorithm, a tabu-list is employed to help the decoding escape from trapping sets, which is the main cause of the error-floor phenomenon. The bits which are flipped in the current iteration will be added to the tabu-list to prevent them being flipped in the next iteration. Simulation results show that the T-PGDBF algorithm offers a significant performance gain when compared to the PGDBF algorithm, which can reach that of soft-decision algorithms. We also present the hardware architecture to implement the T-PGDBF algorithm. Synthesis results show that the improved performance offered by the T-PGDBF algorithm can be obtained with a small hardware overhead.

DOI
10.1109/iscas.2019.8702143

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Nouvelle approche pour une implémentation matérielle à faible complexité du décodeur PGDBF

Khoa Le

Probabilistic Gradient Descent Bit Flipping (PGDBF) algorithm have been recently introduced as a new type of hard decision decoder for Low-Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC) applied on the Binary Symmetric Channel. By following precisely the decoding steps of the deterministic Gradient Descent Bit-Flipping (GDBF) decoder, PGDBF additionally incorporates a random perturbation in the flipping operation of Variable Nodes (VNs) and produces an outstanding decoding performance which is better to all known Bit Flipping decoders, approaching the performance of soft decision decoders. We propose in this thesis several hardware implementations of PGDBF, together with a theoretical analysis of its error correction capability. With a Markov Chain analysis of the decoder, we show that, due to the incorporation of random perturbation in VN processing, the PGDBF escapes from the trapping states which prevent the convergence of decoder. Also, with the new proposed analysis method, the PGDBF performance can be predicted and formulated by a Frame Error Rate equation as a function of the iteration, for a given error pattern. The analysis also gives a clear explanation on several phenomenons of PGDBF such as the gain of re-decoding (or restarting) on a received error pattern. The implementation issue of PGDBF is also addressed as a main part in this thesis. The conventional implementation of PGDBF, in which a probabilistic signal generator is added on top of the GDBF, is shown with an inevitable increase in hardware complexity. Several methods for generating the probabilistic signals are introduced which minimize the overhead complexity of PGDBF. These methods are motivated by the statistical analysis which reveals the critical features of the binary random sequence required to get good decoding performance and suggesting the simplification directions. The synthesis results show that the implemented PGDBF with the proposed probabilistic signal generator method requires a negligible extra complexity with the equivalent decoding performance to the theoretical PGDBF. An interesting and particular implementation of PGDBF for the Quasi-Cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) is shown in the last part of the thesis. Exploiting the structure of QC-LDPC, a novel architecture to implement PGDBF is proposed called Variable-Node Shift Architecture (VNSA). By implementing PGDBF with VNSA, it is shown that the decoder complexity is even smaller than the deterministic GDBF while preserving the decoding performance as good as the theoretical PGDBF. Furthermore, VNSA is also shown to be able to apply on other types of LDPC decoding algorithms.

•May 3, 2017•0 citations
Probabilistic gradient descent bit-flipping (PGDBF) is the state-of-the-art hard-decision algorithm for decoding low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes on binary symmetric channel (BSC). However, there still exists a considerable performance gap between the PGDBF algorithm and soft-decision algorithms, especially in the error-floor region. To bridge this performance gap, a tabu-list aided PGDBF (T-PGDBF) algorithm is proposed in this paper. In the T-PGDBF algorithm, a tabu-list is employed to help the decoding escape from trapping sets, which is the main cause of the error-floor phenomenon. The bits which are flipped in the current iteration will be added to the tabu-list to prevent them being flipped in the next iteration. Simulation results show that the T-PGDBF algorithm offers a significant performance gain when compared to the PGDBF algorithm, which can reach that of soft-decision algorithms. We also present the hardware architecture to implement the T-PGDBF algorithm. Synthesis results show that the improved performance offered by the T-PGDBF algorithm can be obtained with a small hardware overhead.
Low-complexity and high-performance low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoders are highly demanded in various modern communication and storage systems. In this paper, a novel hard-decision decoding algorithm, called tabu-list random-penalty gradient descent bit-flipping (TRGDBF) algorithm, is proposed. Compared to the state-of-the-art hard-decision algorithms, the TRGDBF algorithm has much better error-correction performance due to several algorithmic improvements. First, a random-penalty term is introduced to the inversion function to help the decoder escape from trapping sets, which are the main causes of the error-floor phenomenon. Second, a tabu-list is employed to improve the decoding efficiency. Numerical results show that the TRGDBF algorithm can achieve up to two orders of magnitude better error-correction performance than the probabilistic gradient descent bit-flipping (PGDBF) algorithm and reduce the average iteration count by about 15%. In addition, a well-optimized hardware architecture is developed to implement the TRGDBF algorithm. Algorithmic transformation and architecture optimization are well explored to reduce the hardware complexity and latency. Synthesis results show that the TRGDBF decoder can work at a higher frequency and offer a larger throughput than the PGDBF decoder.
This paper deals with the hardware implementation of the recently introduced Probabilistic Gradient-Descent Bit-Flipping (PGDBF) decoder. The PGDBF is a new type of hard-decision decoder for Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) code, with improved error correction performance thanks to the introduction of deliberate random perturbation in the computing units. In the PGDBF, the random perturbation operates during the bit-flipping step, with the objective to avoid the attraction of so-called trapping-sets of the LDPC code. In this paper, we propose an efficient hardware architecture which minimizes the resource overhead needed to implement the random perturbations of the PGDBF. Our architecture is based on the use of a Short Random Sequence (SRS) that is duplicated to fully apply the PGDBF decoding rules, and on an optimization of the maximum finder unit. The generation of good SRS is crucial to maintain the outstanding decoding performance of PGDBF, and we propose two different methods with equivalent hardware overheads, but with different behaviors on different LDPC codes. Our designs show that the improved PGDBF performance gains can be obtained with a very small additional complexity, therefore providing a competitive hard-decision LDPC decoding solution for current standards.
The Probabilistic Gradient Descent Bit-Flipping (PGDBF) decoder offers a significant improvement in decoding performance for Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes on Binary Symmetric Channel (BSC). However, this outstanding decoding performance comes along with a non-negligible extra hardware cost to realize the probabilistic behavior on top of the deterministic Gradient Descent Bit-Flipping (GDBF) decoder. This paper presents a novel solution to implement PGDBF decoder on Quasi-Cyclic LDPC codes. The proposed architecture takes advantage of the cyclic shift permutation nature of QC-LDPC and changes the message flow such that a probabilistic behavior is emulated without the cost of an actual probabilistic signal generator. It is shown that, the proposed architecture improves the PGDBF decoding performance with respect to the state-of-the-art implementation while reducing hardware complexity, even being lower than that of the deterministic GDBF. The efficiency of our proposed method is verified through the ASIC 90nm CMOS technology implementations and decoding simulations.
Tabu-list random-penalty gradient descent bit-flipping (TRGDBF) is a hard-decision algorithm for decoding low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes, which offers a significant improvement in error correction. However, compared to the current gradient descent bit-flipping (GDBF) variants, it converges slower and has no obvious performance advantage unless enough iterations are allowed. To accelerate the convergence speed, this paper presents a counter random GDBF (CRGDBF) algorithm in which a bit is forbidden to flip in the next iteration after being flipped several times. Incorporating the random operation, the forbidden-mechanism shows a dynamic property, facilitating the decoder more efficiently to break trapping sets. Simulation results show that the CRGDBF can achieve up to 5 times better decoding performance than the TRGDBF algorithm within finite iterations. Additionally, an architecture is presented for implementing the CRGDBF algorithm, demonstrating it only brings limited hardware overhead compared to the TRGDBF.
The Noisy Gradient Descent Bit Flipping (NGDBF) algorithm surpasses the previous Gradient Descent Bit Flipping (GDBF) and other Bit Flipping (BF) algorithms for decoding Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) codes. However, the NGDBF decoder sometimes cannot escape from the local maxima. To further enhance the performance of the NGDBF algorithm, an improved NGDBF algorithm called Tabu-List Noisy Gradient Descent Bit Flipping (TNGDBF) is proposed in this paper. A tabu-list is employed to help the NGDBF decoder escape from the local maxima. It is shown in the simulation results that the TNGDBF algorithm gains about 0.2 dB performance compared with NGDBF at the cost of a small amount of complexity increase.
Probabilistic Gradient Descent Bit Flipping (PGDBF) algorithm have been recently introduced as a new type of hard decision decoder for Low-Density Parity-Check Code (LDPC) applied on the Binary Symmetric Channel. By following precisely the decoding steps of the deterministic Gradient Descent Bit-Flipping (GDBF) decoder, PGDBF additionally incorporates a random perturbation in the flipping operation of Variable Nodes (VNs) and produces an outstanding decoding performance which is better to all known Bit Flipping decoders, approaching the performance of soft decision decoders. We propose in this thesis several hardware implementations of PGDBF, together with a theoretical analysis of its error correction capability. With a Markov Chain analysis of the decoder, we show that, due to the incorporation of random perturbation in VN processing, the PGDBF escapes from the trapping states which prevent the convergence of decoder. Also, with the new proposed analysis method, the PGDBF performance can be predicted and formulated by a Frame Error Rate equation as a function of the iteration, for a given error pattern. The analysis also gives a clear explanation on several phenomenons of PGDBF such as the gain of re-decoding (or restarting) on a received error pattern. The implementation issue of PGDBF is also addressed as a main part in this thesis. The conventional implementation of PGDBF, in which a probabilistic signal generator is added on top of the GDBF, is shown with an inevitable increase in hardware complexity. Several methods for generating the probabilistic signals are introduced which minimize the overhead complexity of PGDBF. These methods are motivated by the statistical analysis which reveals the critical features of the binary random sequence required to get good decoding performance and suggesting the simplification directions. The synthesis results show that the implemented PGDBF with the proposed probabilistic signal generator method requires a negligible extra complexity with the equivalent decoding performance to the theoretical PGDBF. An interesting and particular implementation of PGDBF for the Quasi-Cyclic LDPC (QC-LDPC) is shown in the last part of the thesis. Exploiting the structure of QC-LDPC, a novel architecture to implement PGDBF is proposed called Variable-Node Shift Architecture (VNSA). By implementing PGDBF with VNSA, it is shown that the decoder complexity is even smaller than the deterministic GDBF while preserving the decoding performance as good as the theoretical PGDBF. Furthermore, VNSA is also shown to be able to apply on other types of LDPC decoding algorithms.