A Low-Complexity Sorting Network for a Fast List Polar Decoder

Fast list decoding algorithms for polar codes have been proposed to achieve low latency and high error correction performance. In the Rate-1 and SPC nodes of fast list decoding, a high-complexity sorter is required if multiple bits are to be decoded simultaneously in a single clock cycle. This paper proposes a partitioned sorting network (PSN) that reduces the complexity of metric sorter in Rate-1 and single parity check (SPC) decoders for fast list decoding. The proposed PSN consists of two sorting networks. For the first sorting network, we analyze the order of the path metrics (PMs) and reduce the number of input candidate paths. Furthermore, for the second sorting network, we analyze the cumulative results of path selection and identify relatively frequently selected paths. The proposed PSN have up to 90% fewer compare-and-swap units (CASUs) and up to 137% higher operating frequencies than existing sorting networks Rate-1 and SPC decoders for L =8.