A low complexity joint equalizer and decoder for 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet

A VLSI architecture for low complexity joint decoding and equalization for 1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet is presented. A one-tap parallel decision-feedback decoder jointly decodes the trellis and cancels the ISI due to the first tap of the post-cursor channel impulse response. The one-dimensional branch metrics are precomputed in a look-ahead fashion to meet the speed requirements. The less significant tail of the channel impulse response is canceled with a simple decision-feedback prefilter. The design has been implemented in 3.3 V, 0.25 /spl mu/m standard cell CMOS process for operation at 125 MHz.