Non-Uniform Window Decoding Schedules for Spatially Coupled LDPC Codes

Spatially coupled low-density parity-check codes can be decoded using a graph-based message passing algorithm applied across the total length of the coupled graph. However, considering practical constraints on decoding latency and complexity, a sliding window decoding approach is normally preferred. In order to reduce decoding complexity compared with standard parallel decoding schedules, serial schedules can be applied within a decoding window. However, uniform serial schedules within a window do not provide the expected reduction in complexity. Hence, we propose non-uniform schedules (parallel and serial) based on measured improvements in the estimated bit error rate (BER). We show that these non-uniform schedules result in a significant reduction in complexity without any loss in performance. Furthermore, based on observations made using density evolution, we propose a non-uniform pragmatic decoding schedule (parallel and serial) that does not require any additional calculations (e.g., BER estimates) within the decoding process.