Integrated Transversal Equalizers in High-Speed Fiber-Optic Systems

Intersymbol interference (ISI) caused by intermodal dispersion in multimode fibers is the major limiting factor in the achievable data rate or transmission distance in high-speed multimode fiber-optic links for local area networks applications. Compared with optical-domain and other electrical-domain dispersion compensation methods, equalization with transversal filters based on distributed circuit techniques presents a cost-effective and low-power solution. The design of integrated distributed transversal equalizers is described in detail with focus on delay lines and gain stages. This seven-tap distributed transversal equalizer prototype has been implemented in a commercial 0.18-µm SiGe BiCMOS process for 10-Gb/s multimode fiber-optic links. A seven-tap distributed transversal equalizer reduces the ISI of a 10-Gb/s signal after 800 m of 50-µm multimode fiber from 5 to 1.38 dB, and improves the bit-error rate from about 10^-5 to less than 10^-12

On the eigenfilter design method and its applications: a tutorial

The eigenfilter method for digital filter design involves the computation of filter coefficients as the eigenvector of an appropriate Hermitian matrix. Because of its low complexity as compared to other methods as well as its ability to incorporate various time and frequency-domain constraints easily, the eigenfilter method has been found to be very useful. In this paper, we present a review of the eigenfilter design method for a wide variety of filters, including linear-phase finite impulse response (FIR) filters, nonlinear-phase FIR filters, all-pass infinite impulse response (IIR) filters, arbitrary response IIR filters, and multidimensional filters. Also, we focus on applications of the eigenfilter method in multistage filter design, spectral/spacial beamforming, and in the design of channel-shortening equalizers for communications applications

A fast-initializing digital equalizer with on-line tracking for data communications

A theory is developed for a digital equalizer for use in reducing intersymbol interference (ISI) on high speed data communications channels. The equalizer is initialized with a single isolated transmitter pulse, provided the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is not unusually low, then switches to a decision directed, on-line mode of operation that allows tracking of channel variations. Conditions for optimal tap-gain settings are obtained first for a transversal equalizer structure by using a mean squared error (MSE) criterion, a first order gradient algorithm to determine the adjustable equalizer tap-gains, and a sequence of isolated initializing pulses. Since the rate of tap-gain convergence depends on the eigenvalues of a channel output correlation matrix, convergence can be improved by making a linear transformation on to obtain a new correlation matrix

A 10-Gb/s two-dimensional eye-opening monitor in 0.13-μm standard CMOS

An eye-opening monitor (EOM) architecture that can capture a two-dimensional (2-D) map of the eye diagram of a high-speed data signal has been developed. Two single-quadrant phase rotators and one digital-to-analog converter (DAC) are used to generate rectangular masks with variable sizes and aspect ratios. Each mask is overlapped with the received eye diagram and the number of signal transitions inside the mask is recorded as error. The combination of rectangular masks with the same error creates error contours that overall provide a 2-D map of the eye. The authors have implemented a prototype circuit in 0.13-μm standard CMOS technology that operates up to 12.5 Gb/s at 1.2-V supply. The EOM maps the input eye to a 2-D error diagram with up to 68-dB mask error dynamic range. The left and right halves of the eyes are monitored separately to capture horizontally asymmetric eyes. The chip consumes 330 mW and operates reliably with supply voltages as low as 1 V at 10 Gb/s. The authors also present a detailed analysis that verifies if the measurements are in good agreement with the expected results

Effective denoising and adaptive equalization of indoor optical wireless channel with artificial light using the discrete wavelet transform and artificial neural network

Indoor diffuse optical wireless (OW) communication systems performance is limited due to a number of effects; interference from natural and artificial light sources and multipath induced intersymbol interference (ISI). Artificial light interference (ALI) is a periodic signal with a spectrum profile extending up to the MHz range. It is the dominant source of performance degradation at low data rates, which can be removed using a high-pass filter (HPF). On the other hand, ISI is more severe at high data rates and an equalizing filter is incorporated at the receiver to compensate for the ISI. This paper provides the simulation results for a discrete wavelet transform (DWT)—artificial neural network (ANN)-based receiver architecture for on-and-off keying (OOK) non-return-to-zero (NRZ) scheme for a diffuse indoor OW link in the presence of ALI and ISI. ANN is adopted for classification acting as an efficient equalizer compared to the traditional equalizers. The ALI is effectively reduced by proper selection of the DWT coefficients resulting in improved receiver performance compared to the digital HPF. The simulated bit error rate (BER) performance of proposed DWT-ANN receiver structure for a diffuse indoor OW link operating at a data range of 10-200 Mbps is presented and discussed. The results are compared with performance of a diffuse link with an HPF-equalizer, ALI with/without filtering, and a line-of-sight (LOS) without filtering. We show that the DWT-ANN display a lower power requirement when compared to the receiver with an HPF-equalizer over a full range of delay spread in presence of ALI. However, as expected compared to the ideal LOS link the power penalty is higher reaching to 6 dB at 200 Mbps data rate

Joint optimization of transceivers with fractionally spaced equalizers

In this paper we propose a method for joint optimization of transceivers with fractionally spaced equalization (FSE). We use the effective single-input multiple-output (SIMO) model for the fractionally spaced receiver. Since the FSE is used at the receiver, the optimized precoding scheme should be changed correspondingly. Simulation shows that the proposed method demonstrates remarkable improvement for jointly optimal linear transceivers as well as transceivers with decision feedback

Design of FIR digital filters for pulse shaping and channel equalization using time-domain optimization

Three algorithms are developed for designing finite impulse response digital filters to be used for pulse shaping and channel equalization. The first is the Minimax algorithm which uses linear programming to design a frequency-sampling filter with a pulse shape that approximates the specification in a minimax sense. Design examples are included which accurately approximate a specified impulse response with a maximum error of 0.03 using only six resonators. The second algorithm is an extension of the Minimax algorithm to design preset equalizers for channels with known impulse responses. Both transversal and frequency-sampling equalizer structures are designed to produce a minimax approximation of a specified channel output waveform. Examples of these designs are compared as to the accuracy of the approximation, the resultant intersymbol interference (ISI), and the required transmitted energy. While the transversal designs are slightly more accurate, the frequency-sampling designs using six resonators have smaller ISI and energy values

New receivers for DS-SS in time variant multipath channels based on the PN alignment concept

We present new combined blind equalization and detection schemes for a DS-SS system. The new proposed algorithms improve the bit error rate compared to traditional RAKE receivers in time-variant channels with multipath. This improvement is obtained in both simulated and a real ionospheric HF link. Its very low computational complexity makes them suitable to be implemented in real receivers.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version