Next generation iterative LDPC solutions for magnetic recording storage

Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes have received considerable attention as a next-generation coding technique for communication and storage channels. The developments in the hardware storage business include hard disk drives that support higher capacities and transfer rate credit to perpendicular recording. To meet the demanding error correction requirements at a lower silicon cost, most storage systems manufacturers have started adopting LDPC based error correction systems. This paper summarizes the research on low complexity LDPC decoder architecture with statistical buffer management for magnetic recoding channels that require data rates of over 5 Gbps, real time bit error rates in the order of 10^-12, and quasi real time bit error rates in the order of 10^-15.