Viterbi decoder using circulation type decoding units connected in parallel

An analog Viterbi decoder, comprising:

• a plurality of decoding units, provided with a plurality of processing parts each having a plurality of cells that are vertically arranged so as to correspond to respective nodes on a trellis diagram, each of the plurality of decoding units decoding analog input data using an analog signal processing cell having a circulation type connection structure in which a last processing part is connected to a first processing part;
• a control unit that performs in parallel a sequential designation of the plurality of processing parts with respect to the plurality of decoding units in accordance with an external input clock signal;
• an analog data storage unit including a plurality of capacitors connected in parallel with the plurality of processing parts that are provided in the plurality of decoding units;
• and
• a first switch unit that stores analog input data in a specific capacitor of the analog data storage unit that is controlled by the control unit,
• wherein the plurality of decoding units comprises a first decoding unit and a second decoding unit, and
• wherein the sequential designation of the plurality of processing parts with respect to the plurality of decoding units comprises designating the first decoding unit to start decoding a specified bit of the analog input data using the first processing part of the first decoding unit, and designating the second decoding unit to start decoding a next bit of the analog input data using a second processing part of the second decoding unit, said first and second processing parts being among the plurality of processing parts.