Unlocking Efficiency and Reliability: Polar Codes in 6G Networks

Polar codes represent a significant advancement in coding theory as they approach the Shannon limit of a channel with low encoding and decoding complexity. 6G wireless communication, as a successor of 5G, will usher in new technologies that will require novel coding techniques for their successful implementation. Consequently, sustaining the performance parameters of 6G networks depends on selecting the optimal channel coding techniques. Next-generation wireless access technologies require channel codes to have rate flexibility and low decoding latency in particular. This article reviews the Polar code construction methods and addresses the code’s scalability towards emerging 6G technologies. This paper commences with a discussion of 6G networks and 5G NR Polar code, followed by a study of Polar code design. Also, modifications in Polar code design for performance enhancement are mentioned. Lastly, recent studies exploring the scalability of Polar code towards emerging technologies are summarized.