Abstract: A multilevel optical receiver can comprise a plurality of comparators that generally correspond with the number of levels in a multilevel data stream. Each comparator can be individually controlled and fed a decision threshold in order to decode a multilevel signal. The multilevel optical receiver can generate a statistical characterization of the received symbols in the form of a marginal cumulative distribution function (CDF) or probability density function (pdf). This characterization can be used to produce a set of ?-support estimates from which conditional pdfs are derived for each of the transmission symbols. These conditional pdfs may then be used to determine decision thresholds for decoding the received signal. The conditional pdfs may further be used to continuously estimate the fidelity or error rate of the received signal without the transmission of a testing sequence. The ?-supports may further be used to automatically control the gain on the receiver.

Abstract: A multilevel optical receiver can comprise a plurality of comparators that generally correspond with the number of levels in a multilevel data stream. Each comparator can be individually controlled and fed a decision threshold in order to decode a multilevel signal. The multilevel optical receiver can generate a statistical characterization of the received symbols in the form of a marginal cumulative distribution function (CDF) or probability density function (pdf). This characterization can be used to produce a set of ?-support estimates from which conditional pdfs are derived for each of the transmission symbols. These conditional pdfs may then be used to determine decision thresholds for decoding the received signal. The conditional pdfs may further be used to continuously estimate the fidelity or error rate of the received signal without the transmission of a testing sequence. The ?-supports may further be used to automatically control the gain on the receiver.

Abstract: Clock recovery of a multi-level (ML) signal can be performed in a two-step process. First, the transitions within the ML signal can be detected by a novel transition detector (TD). And second, the output of the TD circuit can comprise a pseudo-non-return-to-zero (pNRZ) signal that can drive a conventional OOK clock recovery (CR) IC. The TD circuit can convert the edges of the ML signal into the pseudo-NRZ (pNRZ) signal. The TD circuit can capture as many transitions as possible to allow the conventional NRZ clock recovery (CR) chip to optimally perform. The TD circuit can differentiate the ML signal in order to detect the ML signal's transitions.

Abstract: Decreasing the average transmitted power in an optical fiber communication channel using multilevel amplitude modulation in conjunction with Pulse Position Modulation (PPM). This multilevel PPM method does not entail any tradeoff between decreased power per channel and channel bandwidth, enabling a lower average transmitted power compared to On/Off Keying (OOK) with no reduction in aggregate data rate. Therefore, multilevel PPM can be used in high-speed Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) systems where the maximum number of channels is traditionally limited by nonlinear effects such as self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM), four-wave mixing (FWM), stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). This modulation technique can enable an increased number of channels in DWDM systems, thereby increasing aggregate data rates within those systems.

Abstract: A circuit can process a sample of a signal to emulate, simulate, or model an effect on the signal. Thus, an emulation circuit can produce a representation of a real-world signal transformation by processing the signal according to one or more signal processing parameters that are characteristic of the real-world signal transformation. The emulation circuit can apply analog signal processing and/or mixed signal processing to the signal. The signal processing can comprise feeding the signal through two signal paths, each having a different delay, and creating a weighted sum of the outputs of the two signal paths. The signal processing can also (or alternatively) comprise routing the signal through a network of delay elements, wherein a bank of switching or routing elements determines the route and thus the resulting delay.

Abstract: Signals propagating on an aggressor communication channel can cause detrimental interference in a victim communication channel. A signal processing circuit can generate an interference cancellation signal that, when applied to the victim communication channel, cancels the detrimental interference. The signal processing circuit can dynamically adjust or update two or more aspects of the interference cancellation signal, such as an amplitude or gain parameter and a phase or delay parameter. Via the dynamic adjustments, the signal processing circuit can adapt to changing conditions, thereby maintaining an acceptable level of interference cancellation in a fluctuating operating environment. A control circuit that implements the parametric adjustments can have at least two modes of operation, one for adjusting the amplitude parameter and one for adjusting the phase parameter. The modes can be selectable or can be intermittently available, for example.

Abstract: Data throughput rates are increased in an optical fiber communication system without requiring replacement of the existing optical fiber in a link. Channel throughput is increased by upgrading the components and circuitry in the head and terminal of an optical fiber communication system link. Aggregate throughput in a fiber optic link is increased beyond the range of conventional Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) upgrades, while precluding the necessity of replacing existing fiber plants. The increase in system throughput is achieved by using advanced modulation techniques to encode greater amounts of data into the transmitted spectrum of a channel, thereby increasing the spectral efficiency of each channel. This novel method of increasing transmission capacity by upgrading the head and terminal of the system to achieve greater spectral efficiency and hence throughput, alleviates the need to replace existing fiber plants.

Abstract: A wireless communication system can comprise two or more antennas that interfere with one another via free space coupling, surface wave crosstalk, dielectric leakage, or other interference effect. The interference effect can produce an interference signal on one of the antennas. A cancellation device can suppress antenna interference by generating an estimate of the interference signal and subtracting the estimate from the interference signal. The cancellation device can generate the estimate based on sampling signals on an antenna that generates the interference or on an antenna that receives the interference. The cancellation device can comprise a model of the crosstalk effect. Transmitting test signals on the communication system can define or refine the model.

Abstract: Decreasing the average transmitted power in an optical fiber communication channel using multilevel amplitude modulation in conjunction with Pulse Position Modulation (PPM). This multilevel PPM method does not entail any tradeoff between decreased power per channel and channel bandwidth, enabling a lower average transmitted power compared to On/Off Keying (OOK) with no reduction in aggregate data rate. Therefore, multilevel PPM can be used in high-speed Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) systems where the maximum number of channels is traditionally limited by nonlinear effects such as self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM), four-wave mixing (FWM), stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). This modulation technique can enable an increased number of channels in DWDM systems, thereby increasing aggregate data rates within those systems.

Abstract: A Signal Conditioning Filter (SCF) and a Signal Integrity Unit (SIU) address the coupled problem of equalization and noise filtering in order to improve signal fidelity for decoding. Specifically, a received signal can be filtered in a manner to optimize the signal fidelity even in the presence of both significant (large magnitudes of) ISI and noise. The present invention can provide an adaptive method that continuously monitors a signal fidelity measure. Monitoring the fidelity of a multilevel signal can be performed by external means such as by the SIU. A received signal y(t) can be “conditioned” by application of a filter with an electronically adjustable impulse response g(t). A resulting output z(t) can then be interrogated to characterize the quality of the conditioned signal. This fidelity measure q(t) can be used to adjust the filter response to maximize the fidelity measure of the conditioned signal.

Abstract: A wireless communication system can comprise two or more antennas that interfere with one another via free space coupling, surface wave crosstalk, dielectric leakage, or other interference effect. The interference effect can produce an interference signal on one of the antennas. A cancellation device can suppress antenna interference by generating an estimate of the interference signal and subtracting the estimate from the interference signal. The cancellation device can generate the estimate based on sampling signals on an antenna that generates the interference or on an antenna that receives the interference. The cancellation device can comprise a model of the crosstalk effect. Transmitting test signals on the communication system can define or refine the model.

Abstract: Signals propagating on an aggressor communication channel can cause interference in a victim communication channel. A sensor coupled to the aggressor channel can obtain a sample of the aggressor signal. The sensor can be integrated with or embedded in a system, such as a flex circuit or a circuit board, that comprises the aggressor channel. The sensor can comprise a dedicated conductor or circuit trace that is near an aggressor conductor, a victim conductor, or an EM field associated with the interference. An interference compensation circuit can receive the sample from the sensor. The interference compensation circuit can have at least two operational modes of operation. In the first mode, the circuit can actively generate or output a compensation signal that cancels, corrects, or suppresses the interference. The second mode can be a standby, idle, power-saving, passive, or sleep mode.

Abstract: Signals propagating in one communication channel can generate crosstalk interference in another communication channel. A crosstalk cancellation device can process the signals causing the crosstalk interference and generate a crosstalk cancellation signal that can compensate for the crosstalk when applied to the channel receiving crosstalk interference. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a model of the crosstalk effect that generates a signal emulating the actual crosstalk both in form an in timing. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a controller that monitors crosstalk-compensated communication signals and adjusts the model to enhance crosstalk cancellation performance. The crosstalk cancellation device can have a mode of self configuration or calibration in which defined test signals can be transmitted on the crosstalk-generating channel and the crosstalk-receiving channel.

Abstract: Signals propagating in one communication channel can generate crosstalk interference in another communication channel. A crosstalk cancellation device can process the signals causing the crosstalk interference and generate a crosstalk cancellation signal that can compensate for the crosstalk when applied to the channel receiving crosstalk interference. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a model of the crosstalk effect that generates a signal emulating the actual crosstalk both in form an in timing. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a controller that monitors crosstalk-compensated communication signals and adjusts the model to enhance crosstalk cancellation performance. The crosstalk cancellation device can have a mode of self configuration or calibration in which defined test signals can be transmitted on the crosstalk-generating channel and the crosstalk-receiving channel.

Abstract: A Signal Conditioning Filter (SCF) and a Signal Integrity Unit (SIU) address the coupled problem of equalization and noise filtering in order to improve signal fidelity for decoding. Specifically, a received signal can be filtered in a manner to optimize the signal fidelity even in the presence of both significant (large magnitudes of) ISI and noise. The present invention can provide an adaptive method that continuously monitors a signal fidelity measure. Monitoring the fidelity of a multilevel signal can be performed by external means such as by the SIU. A received signal y(t) can be “conditioned” by application of a filter with an electronically adjustable impulse response g(t). A resulting output z(t) can then be interrogated to characterize the quality of the conditioned signal. This fidelity measure q(t) can be used to adjust the filter response to maximize the fidelity measure of the conditioned signal.

Abstract: A wireless communication system can comprise two or more antennas that interfere with one another via free space coupling, surface wave crosstalk, dielectric leakage, or other interference effect. The interference effect can produce an interference signal on one of the antennas. A cancellation device can suppress antenna interference by generating an estimate of the interference signal and subtracting the estimate from the interference signal. The cancellation device can generate the estimate based on sampling signals on an antenna that generates the interference or on an antenna that receives the interference. The cancellation device can comprise a model of the crosstalk effect. Transmitting test signals on the communication system can define or refine the model.

Abstract: A slicer can receive a communication signal having a level or amplitude that is between two discrete levels of a multilevel digital communication scheme. The slicer can compare the communication signal to a plurality of references such that multiple comparisons proceed essentially in parallel. A summation node can add the results of the comparisons to provide an output signal set to one of the discrete levels. The slicer can process the communication signal and provide the output signal on a symbol-by-symbol basis. A decision feedback equalizer (“DFE”) can comprise the slicer. A feedback circuit of the DFE can delay and scale the output signal and apply the delayed and scaled signal to the communication signal to reduce intersymbol interference (“ISI”).

Abstract: Signals propagating in one communication channel can generate crosstalk interference in another communication channel. A crosstalk cancellation device can process the signals causing the crosstalk interference and generate a crosstalk cancellation signal that can compensate for the crosstalk when applied to the channel receiving crosstalk interference. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a model of the crosstalk effect that generates a signal emulating the actual crosstalk both in form an in timing. The crosstalk cancellation device can include a controller that monitors crosstalk-compensated communication signals and adjusts the model to enhance crosstalk cancellation performance. The crosstalk cancellation device can have a mode of self configuration or calibration in which defined test signals can be transmitted on the crosstalk-generating channel and the crosstalk-receiving channel.

Abstract: A receiver that can include an adaptive equalizer and a comparator processes communication signals that have been distorted by a propagation medium. The adaptive equalizer can correct for distortion of the received signals. The comparator can accept the equalized signal from the equalizer and quantize this signal. A control loop coupled to the equalized signal and the quantized signal can adjust the equalizer. The control loop can adjust the equalizer so that the high frequency energy in the equalized signal approximates the high-frequency energy in the quantized signal, taking into account variation between the low-frequency energies of these two signals.

Abstract: A method and system using the principle of generalized maximum likelihood estimation to resolve sample timing uncertainties that are associated with the decoding of communication signals. By using generalized maximum likelihood estimation, sample timing uncertainty can be resolved by taking multiple samples of the received signal within a symbol period and determining which sample best corresponds to the optimal sample timing. The sample which best corresponds to the optimal sample timing can be determined from a timing index which can be calculated from ambiguity indicators that are based on the samples of the received signal.