System and method for linear distortion estimation by way of equalizer coefficients

• US 20060039459A1
• Filed: 02/01/2005
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kolze, Thomas J., Currivan, Bruce J.
• Granted Patent: US 7,602,867 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/1027 assessing signal quality or detecting noise/interference for the received signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/123 using adaptive balancing or compensation means adaptive filter circuits and algorithms H03H
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2025/03617 Time recursive algorithms H04L2025/03643 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/022 of frequency response
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03019 adaptive, i.e. capable of adjustment during data reception
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/03343 Arrangements at the transmitter end

Abstract

Provided is a method and system for estimating distortion in a communications channel including an adaptive equalizer. The method includes determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients associated with a signal passed through the equalizer. The method also includes estimating un-equalized channel distortion based upon the determined adaptive filter coefficients.

Claims

1. A method for estimating distortion in a communications system channel including an adaptive equalizer, comprising:

determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients associated with a signal passed through the equalizer; and

estimating un-equalized channel distortion based upon the determined adaptive filter coefficients.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel distortion includes at least one of linear filtering distortion, signal power to distortion power ratio, modulation error ratio, and signal to noise ratio.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the communications channel is a transmit channel.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the communications channel is a receive channel.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating a frequency response of the determined coefficients;

and

applying corrections to the frequency response;

wherein the applying corrections step occurs prior to estimating the un-equalized channel distortion.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the frequency response is determined in accordance with a fast Fourier transform operation.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the corrections include adjustments to amplitude and phase of the frequency response.

8. A method for estimating noise in a communications channel including an adaptive equalizer, comprising:

determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients h₁(n) associated with a signal passed through the equalizer;

normalizing the determined coefficients to unit energy; and

differencing the normalized coefficients with an ideal response h₀(n) of the communications channel, the differencing producing an error sequence h₂(n).

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining an energy of the error sequence.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

converting the error sequence to frequency domain, the converting producing a frequency response of the error sequence; and

removing a delay offset of the frequency response to produce a delayed offset response h₃(n).

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

(i) summing the delayed offset response and an ideal channel frequency response of the filter and (ii) inverting the sum to produce an inverted response h₄(n);

normalizing the inverted response to unit error, thus producing a normalized response h₅(n); and

removing a phase offset from the normalized inverted response, the removing producing an estimated channel response h₆(k).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

differencing the estimated channel response h₆(k) with the ideal channel frequency response, the differencing producing an error filter h₇(k); and

determining an error power of the difference.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the converting is based upon a Fast Fourier transform of the error sequence.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the converting is based upon (i) padding the error sequence with zeros and (ii) applying a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to the padded error sequence.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the FFT includes at least 4096 samples.

16. A method for estimating noise in a communications channel including an adaptive equalizer, comprising:

receiving data within the channel and converging taps of the equalizer when the data is received;

determining a sum of tap power values, the sum excluding a power of a main tap and dividing the sum by a combined power of all the taps;

normalizing the taps to unity power;

determining a difference filter from the normalized taps; and

summing a power of taps of the difference filter.

17. An apparatus for estimating distortion in a communications system channel including an adaptive equalizer, comprising:

means for determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients associated with a signal passed through the equalizer; and

means for estimating un-equalized channel distortion based upon the determined adaptive filter coefficients.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the channel distortion includes at least one of linear filtering distortion, signal power to distortion power ratio, modulation error ratio, and signal to noise ratio.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, further comprising means for calculating a frequency response of the determined coefficients;

and

means for applying corrections to the frequency response.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the frequency response is determined in accordance with a fast Fourier transform operation.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the corrections include adjustments to amplitude and phase of the frequency response.

22. An apparatus for estimating noise in a communications channel including an adaptive equalizer, comprising:

means for determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients h₁(n) associated with a signal passed through the equalizer;

means for normalizing the determined coefficients to unit energy; and

means for differencing the normalized coefficients with an ideal response h₀(n) of the communications channel, the differencing producing an error sequence h₂(n).

23. The apparatus of claim 22, further comprising means for determining an energy of the error sequence.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, further comprising:

means for converting the error sequence to frequency domain, the converting producing a frequency response of the error sequence; and

means for removing a delay offset of the frequency response to produce a delayed offset response h₃(n).

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for (i) summing the delayed offset response and an ideal channel frequency response of the filter and (ii) inverting the sum to produce an inverted response h₄(n);

means for normalizing the inverted response to unit error, thus producing a normalized response h₅(n); and

means for removing a phase offset from the normalized inverted response, the removing producing an estimated channel response h₆(k).

26. The apparatus of claim 25, further comprising:

means for differencing the estimated channel response h₆(k) with the ideal channel frequency response, the differencing producing an error filter h₇(k); and

means for determining an error power of the difference.

27. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for execution by one or more processors to perform a method for estimating distortion in a communications system channel including an adaptive equalizer, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

determining one or more adaptive filter coefficients associated with a signal passed through the equalizer; and

estimating un-equalized channel distortion based upon the determined adaptive filter coefficients.