  Spatially-coupled (SC) codes is a class of convolutional LDPC codes that has
been well investigated in classical coding theory thanks to their high
performance and compatibility with low-latency decoders. We describe toric
codes as quantum counterparts of classical two-dimensional spatially-coupled
(2D-SC) codes, and introduce spatially-coupled quantum LDPC (SC-QLDPC) codes as
a generalization. We use the convolutional structure to represent the parity
check matrix of a 2D-SC code as a polynomial in two indeterminates, and derive
an algebraic condition that is both necessary and sufficient for a 2D-SC code
to be a stabilizer code. This algebraic framework facilitates the construction
of new code families. While not the focus of this paper, we note that small
memory facilitates physical connectivity of qubits, and it enables local
encoding and low-latency windowed decoding. In this paper, we use the algebraic
framework to optimize short cycles in the Tanner graph of 2D-SC hypergraph
product (HGP) codes that arise from short cycles in either component code.
While prior work focuses on QLDPC codes with rate less than 1/10, we construct
2D-SC HGP codes with small memories, higher rates (about 1/3), and superior
thresholds.
