LDPC Decoder Applications

The IEEE 802.3 standard defines 10 gigabit Ethernet and was first published in 2002. In 2006 the IEEE 802.3an standard was released as an amendment to IEEE 802.3-2005. This amendment (10 GBASE-T) defines the 10 gigabit transmission over shielded or unshielded twisted pair cables for distances of up to 100 m. It uses LDPC codes for forward error correction. The IEEE 802.3an amendment was consolidated into IEEE 802.3-2008.

10 GBASE-T contains a special class of LDPC codes (so-called Reed-Solomon code-based LDPC codes or RS-LDPC codes). A Reed-Solomon code is used to define the generator matrix of the LDPC code. The LDPC code construction method guarantees that no cycles of length four are contained within the Tanner graph. Since the structure of the parity check matrix differs from all other standardized LDPC codes, different decoder architectures become mandatory.