A hybrid decoding method for short-blocklength Reed Solomon codes

The standard Berlekamp-Massey (1965, 1969) iterative algorithm, although the most commonly used decoding method for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes, is computationally complex. A novel decoding technique that combines error trapping decoding and the Berlekamp-Massey algorithm is proposed. It is demonstrated that this decoder maintains the simplicity of the error trapping decoder for the most part. Moreover, it is shown that whenever it is necessary to apply the maximum error correcting capability of the code, only a shortened Berlekamp-Massey algorithm is utilized. Substantial improvement in the decoder throughput relative to that of Berlekamp-Massey decoding is reported. Software simulation is used to verify the theoretical performance analysis