A Class of Block-Iterative Equalizers for Intersymbol Interference Channels

A new and efficient class of nonlinear equalizers is developed for intersymbol interference (ISI) channels. These “iterated-decision equalizers” use an optimized multipass algorithm to successively cancel ISI from a block of received data and generate symbol decisions whose reliability increases monotonically with each iteration. These equalizers have an effective complexity comparable to the decision-feedback equalizer (DFE), yet asymptotically achieve the performance of maximum-likelihood sequence detection (MLSD). We show that, because their structure allows cancellation of both precursor and postcursor ISI, iterateddecision equalizers outperform the minimum mean-square error DFE by 2.507 dB on severe ISI channels even with uncoded systems. Moreover, unlike the DFE, iterated-decision equalizers can be readily used in conjunction with error-control coding, making them attractive for a wealth of applications.