Abstract
In this talk, we compare spatially coupled LDPC codes to LDPC block codes according to several criteria. For convenience, we focus on photograph-based code ensembles, both binary and non-binary. Comparisons of ensemble average asymptotic properties and the finite length performance of specific codes are considered. Specific criteria for comparison include iterative decoding thresholds, minimum distance, trapping set, and absorbing set properties, analytical error-rate bounds, simulated error-rate performance, decoder latency and memory requirements, computational complexity, and decoder design complexity. For spatially coupled codes, both flooding schedule and sliding window decoding methods are considered.