Non-Binary Protograph-Based LDPC Codes: Analysis,Enumerators and Designs

Non-binary LDPC codes can outperform binary LDPC codes using sum-product algorithm with higher computation complexity. Non-binary LDPC codes based on protographs have the advantage of simple hardware architecture. In the first part of this thesis, we will use EXIT chart analysis to compute the thresholds of different protographs over GF(q). Based on threshold computation, some non-binary protograph-based LDPC codes are designed and their frame error rates are compared with binary LDPC codes. For maximum-likelihood decoder, weight enumerator can predict frame error rate of an LDPC code. In the second part of this thesis, we calculate weight enumerators of protograph-based non-binary LDPC code ensembles both for finite length case and asymptotic case. In addition, the trapping set and stopping set enumerators are presented