Decoding of multi-kernel polar codes

Provided is a procedure for sequentially decoding a polar code. The procedure comprises propagating statistical values representing initial estimates of codeword bits received via a noisy channel through multiple decoding stages comprising multiple kernel units representing polar code kernels of different sizes, determining first decoded bit values based on output statistical values of a kernel unit of an ultimate decoding stage, propagating the first decoded bit values through a subset of the multiple decoding stages and storing first partial sums determined from the propagated first decoded bit values in first memory elements of a memory. The procedure is continued by determining second decoded bit values based on the first stored partial sums and at least some of the propagated statistical values, and propagating the second decoded bit values through a subset of the multiple decoding stages and storing second partial sums determined from the propagated second decoded bit values in the memory, wherein the stored second partial sums consume memory space gained by releasing the first memory elements.