Self-Calibrating Continuous-Time Equalization Targeting Inter-symbol Interference

A method for designing self-calibrating continuous-time equalizers is proposed. An error term, generated from the channel pulse response may be used to adaptively calibrate the equalizer, resulting in a significant reduction of ISI. This error term is based on the minimization of accumulating ISI versus total ISI. By limiting the change in ISI from bit to bit, reasonable voltage and timing margins are achieved. Matlab simulations show the clear opening of a 20Gbps data eye at the end of a 6" copper trace on an FR4-based PC board