Impact of continuous time linear equalizer variability on eye opening of high-speed links

In this paper a variability analysis on three generic continuous-time linear equalizer (CTLE) implementations is conducted based on their respective equivalent circuits. It is studied how the simultaneous variation of all circuit elements affects a CTLE's performance. The variability analysis is conducted applying polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) with stochastic testing (ST). To obtain meaningful results, the impact of the variations on the transmission through a realistic channel, the vertical and horizontal eye opening are investigated. The eye opening and its uncertainty due to the variations of the CTLE's parameter values is analyzed for data rates from 2 to 18 Gbit/s, to compare the performance of the different CTLE implementations. Finally, the relative impact of specific circuit elements is linked to the uncertainty of the eye opening.