Interpolation-based Chase BCH decoder

BCH codes are adopted in many applications, such as flash memory and optical communications. Compared to hard-decision decoders, the soft-decision Chase BCH decoder can achieve significant coding gain by trying multiple test vectors. Previously, one-pass Chase BCH decoding schemes based on the Berlekamp's algorithm are used to share intermediate results among the decoding trials. In this paper, it will be shown that the interpolation-based one-pass Chase BCH decoder has much lower hardware complexity. Techniques for simplifying the implementation architecture for each step of the interpolation-based decoder are summarized. For a (4200, 4096) BCH code, the interpolation-based Chase decoder with 16 test vectors has 2.2 times higher hardware efficiency than that based on the Berlekamp's algorithm in terms of throughput-over-area ratio.