A transform approach for analyzing and constructing quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check codes

An approach for studying quasi-cyclic codes based on matrix transformations via Fourier transforms and row and column permutations is presented. These transformations put a parity-check matrix in the form of an array of circulant matrices into a diagonal array of matrices of the same size over an extension field. The approach is used to characterize certain structural properties of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes such as the girths of their Tanner graphs. Many constructions of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes can be unified under the proposed approach.