An energy efficient 18Gbps LDPC decoding processor for 802.11ad in 28nm CMOS

The design of multi-Gbps LDPC decoder has become a hot topic in recent years as the demand of transformation towards 5G. An energy efficient 18Gbps LDPC decoder based on LDPC ASIP with half layer paralleled architecture is proposed. The feasibility of the design is proven by its demonstrator silicon in 28nm CMOS technology, with a record energy efficiency of 18.4 pJ/decoded bit and area efficiency of 23.8 Gbps/mm² for the ½ coding rate working at 18.4Gbps. With frequency, voltage scaling and multi-core management, the decoder supports a wide range of throughput, from 1.8Gbps to 18.4Gbps. The measurement results show the ASIP based design not only provides an energy efficient high speed solution but also be competitive with published ASIC solution at low and medium throughput scenarios.