Abstract: A novel adaptively iterative list decoding (ILD) approach using for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes was investigated. The proposed scheme is exploited to reduce the complexity of RS Chase algorithm （CA）via an iterative decoding attempt mode. In each decoding attempt process, a test pattern is generated by flipping the bits of least reliable positions (LRPs) within the received hard-decision (HD) vector. The ILD algorithm continues until a test pattern is successfully decoded by the underlying Berlekamp-Massey algorithm (BMA) of RS codes. Flipping within the same bits, the ILD algorithm provides the same test pattern set as the conventional RS CA, thus there is no degradation in error-rate performance. Without decoding all test patterns, the ILD algorithm can simplify the decoding complexity by its early termination. Simulation results show that the average complexity of the ILD algorithm is much lower than that of the conventional RS CA (and is similar to that of BMA decoding) at high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)region with no less to the RS Chase decoding error-rate performance.

Key words: iterative decoding, soft-decision decoding, Reed-Solomon codes, low-complexity decoding