MrcPunc: Modulation and Rate Compatible Puncturing for Few-Iteration 5G LDPC Decoding

To meet the stringent high-throughput demands of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), low-density parity-check (LDPC) decoding is limited to few iterations. This constraint usually degrades error-correcting performance, rousing a critical need for puncturing towards algorithmic enhancements. However, existing puncturing methods lack modulation and rate compatibility, converging to local optima due to greedy search strategies. To this end, this paper proposes a modulation and rate compatible puncturing (MrcPunc) for 5G LDPC codes. It incorporates three key techniques: 1)a revised protograph-based extrinsic information transfer (PEXIT) analysisfor accurate performance prediction, 2)a progressive multi-path search (PMPS) algorithmto avoid local optima, and 3)a compatibility optimizationsupporting various modulations and code rates. The MrcPunc yields up to 0.6 dB gain over the 5G standard puncturing under few-iteration condition without extra decoding complexity. It is noted that MrcPunc guarantees robustness against both larger iteration counts and mismatched modulations, alongside reducing the average number of decoding iterations.