Tutorial: Analog Front-End Design for Gb/s Wireline Receivers

This tutorial introduces the design, analysis, and optimization of analog front-ends for state-of-the-art Gb/s wireline receivers. Specifically, the tutorial highlights key circuit/system requirements, tradeoffs, and gotchas inherent in the design of such receivers. In addition, the tutorial develops simple analytical formulas that accurately predict the power and performance characteristics of key circuit blocks such as continuous-time linear equalizers and decision-feedback equalizers.