Trace-Back Techniques Adapted to the Surviving Memory Management in the M Algorithm,

Key words: VLSI, M algorithm, Viterbi algorithm, Trace-Back, memory mangement

Abstract:
A new architecture for survivor memory management in the M algorithm is presented. So far, classical implementations of the survivor memory management employ the register exchange procedure. The architecture presented here is based on the traceback procedure used in the Viterbi Algorithm. Using a new pointer which indicates the number of the surviving path given by the sorting operation during thepath metric updating operation, all the trace back techniques that have been proposedfor the Viterbi algorithm can be employed for the M Algorithm. This architecture isspecially attractive for large values of M and L in wich case the register exchange approach is impractical due to power consumption and to the area requiredfor wiring. In addition, a combination of the register exchange and the trace backprocedures is also presented. The combination of these algorithms reduces both the information to be stored and the processing time.

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Authors: Emmanuel Boutillon, Luis Gonzalez

Reference: ICASSP'00, IEEE, Istenbul 2000.