Polar Codes

Understand a cutting-edge new class of error correction codes with this introduction

Channel coding is a pivotal technique employed to account for potential errors due to channel noise or interference by adding layers of redundancy to information prior to transmission or storage. Should errors appear in the transmitted sequence upon reaching its destination, they can be corrected with reference to the redundant layers. Polar codes are a new class of error correction codes that provably achieve the capacity of binary discrete memoryless channels. Their distinct advantages have led to their incorporation in the logical control channels of the fifth generation of wireless communications (5G). Possessing robust and competitive error correction capabilities for short and medium-length codes positions them strategically to fulfill a pivotal role in various communication systems as we move towards the sixth generation of wireless communication (6G) and beyond.

Polar Codes provides a thorough, accessible overview of this new class of codes and its applications. Beginning with the foundational theories underlying polar codes, it guides readers through the construction of polar codes, their variants, and their encoding and decoding processes. The result is a must-have for coding researchers and professionals looking to develop an edge in the wireless communications of the future.

Polar Codes readers will also find:

Continuous connections between discussed concepts and current 5G standards
Snippets of code in MATLAB/Python to illustrate key tools
End of chapter problems and bibliographical notes to facilitate learning and provide references for further reading.

Author Biography

Mohammad Rowshan, PhD, (Member, IEEE) received the B.Eng. degree (Hons.) in electrical engineering from the University of Nottingham in 2015 (ranked 1), the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2016, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Monash University in 2021. He is currently an Engineering ECA Fellow with the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, where he serves as a Researcher, a Lecturer, and a Supervisor/Mentor. He also serves as a reviewer of IEEE conferences and journals, and a TPC member of conferences Fariba Abbasi, PhD, is currently a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. She received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Tabriz,, Iran, and the Ph.D. degree from Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Fariba Abbasi has received several awards and honors, including two visiting scholar’s fellowships from the Institute of Network Coding (INC) and the Department of Information Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), in 2015 and 2016, respectively, Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (MIPRS) and Monash Graduate Scholarship (MGS) in 2017, and Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project Top-Up Scholarship in 2018.

Emanuele Viterbo, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a Fellow of the IEEE and an ISI Highly Cited Researcher (2009, Thompson Reuters). He has published extensively on a range of subjects related to channel coding and wireless communication.