Constructions of high performance non-binary quasi-cyclic LDPC codes

This paper presents algebraic methods for constructing high performance quasi-cyclic LDPC codes over non-binary fields. Experimental results show that codes constructed based on these methods perform well over the AWGN channel with iterative decoding using a fast Fourier transform based sum-product algorithm. They achieve significantly large coding gains over Reed-Solomon codes of the same lengths and rates decoded with the hard-decision Berlekamp-Massey algorithm, the algebraic soft-decision Kotter-Vardy algorithm, and the Jiang-Narayananpsilas adaptive belief propagation algorithm. Due to their quasi-cyclic structure, these LDPC codes can be efficiently encoded using simple shift-registers with linear complexity. They have a great potential to replace Reed-Solomon codes for some applications in communication or storage systems for combating mixed types of noise and interferences.