2021-01-30

struggling w/ PAM4 FIR...

1. NRZ FIR is perfect.

2. The best strategy for multi-level FIR:

a. Each transition edge gets boosted.

b. Each LF bit gets deemphasized.

Concern:

a. If boosting the mid-level transitions, could it suppress the eye down?

Here a key is how these edges shift their positions (both vertical and horizontal) due to the channel loss. Example: 10101010 vs 00101010. The positions of the three 1s in the middle are different in these two cases! From this view, the transitions to mid-levles should also be boosted - they won't enroch the mid-eye since the levels that construct the mid-eye are actually shifting rather than static!

b. Right now the problem is my current PAM4 FFE seems working in some cases but not in others! I have to make it as stable as NRZ FFE...