Feed-Forward Control of PAM4 CTLE for Optical Receivers Based on a Step Response Analysis

PAM4 EDC for an optical network receiver is studied. In a conventional EDC, the amount of compensation is adjusted by a feedback controller, thus, it takes time for the packet response. We clarified the relationship between waveform degradation and the amount of compensation and proposed the feed-forward CTLE controller. In our EDC, we obtained the prospect of controlling the CTLE by feed-forward controller.