Split non-binary LDPC codes

In this paper, we propose and study a new family of error-correcting codes. These achieve excellent error performance under an iterative decoding over the binary-input noisy channel and solves the memory space requirements problem of the non-binary LDPC decoders. We named this class of codes, Split non-binary LDPC codes. The main particularity of this new family of codes is that the variable and the check nodes are not defined over the same finite field GF(2^p), like in the case of classical non-binary LDPC codes. The class of Split non-binary LDPC codes is obviously larger than that of existing types of codes, which gives more degrees of freedom to find good codes when the existing codes show their limits. We provide two examples of interesting split NB-LDPC codes.