FIR filter optimization using bit-edge equalization in high-speed backplane data transmission

A unique bit-edge equalization (BEE) method for mitigating intersymbol interference (ISI) in high-speed backplane applications is presented. Using a least-mean-square (LMS) adaptive algorithm as a receiver (RX) error convergence engine, the proposed BEE method aims to optimize the bit-edge amplitudes by equalizing only the edges of data bits with an adjustment of the sampling points where the error information is collected. This adjustment of sampling points in turn changes the error information and affects filter coefficients for pulse amplitude modulation. As a result, the channel's far-end 3-level bit-edge eye diagrams can be optimized. This proposed BEE method employs transmitter (TX) pre-coding in conjunction with TX pre-emphasis using a symbol-spaced FIR (SSF) filter. In this work, a detailed analytical comparison of the proposed BEE transceiver architecture with the conventional NRZ bit-centre equalization (BCE) and duobinary transceiver architectures is presented. The simulation results demonstrate that at 10+ Gbps data rates, the proposed BEE is the most effective method for mitigating ISI in relatively high-loss channels.