PMD mitigation at 10Gbit/s using linear and nonlinear integrated electronic equaliser circuits

A transversal filter (TF) and a decision feedback equaliser (DFE) have been manufactured as integrated electronic circuits in SiGe technology suitable for 10Gbit/s operation. Using these devices, electrical equalisers for imp lementation in optical receivers have been realised and the reduction in pe nalty induced by polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) has been experimentally analysed. A device consisting of the concatenation of a TF and DFE exhibit s the lowest residual penalty, < 3 dB for a PMD with a differential group d elay of < 80ps.