UEP Constructions of Quasi-Cyclic Low-Density Parity-Check Codes via Masking

Abstract

In this paper, the algebraic constructions of quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes with the unequal error protection (UEP) property are considered. A criterion for constructing such codes via the masking technique is proposed, based on which explicit conditions on the base parity-check matrices and masking matrices to achieve UEP are provided. We also give three specific constructions of UEP QC-LDPC codes. Furthermore, a sufficient condition to ensure strict UEP is presented. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of our constructed codes over time-sharing schemes. The constructed codes also have competitive error performance against randomly constructed equal-error-protection LDPC codes and irregular UEP LDPC codes designed based on the degree distribution.