Optimized decoder for low-density parity check codes based on genetic algorithms

Abstract

Low-density parity check (LDPC) codes, are a family of error-correcting codes, their performances close to the Shannon limit make them very attractive solutions for digital communication systems. There are several algorithms for decoding LDPC codes that show great diversity in terms of performance related to error correction. Also, very recently, many research papers involved the genetic algorithm (GA) in coding theory, in particular, in the decoding linear block codes case, which has heavily contributed to reducing the bit error rate (BER). In this paper, an efficient method based on the GA is proposed and it is used to improve the power of correction in terms of BER and the frame error rate (FER) of LDPC codes. Subsequently, the proposed algorithm can independently decide the most suitable moment to stop the decoding process, moreover, it does not require channel information (CSI) making it adaptable for all types of channels with different noise or intensity. The simulations show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient in terms of BER compared to other LDPC code decoders.