Equalizer

An equalizer within a receiver compensates for the average range of expected channel
amplitude and delay characteristics. In other words, an equalizer is a filter at the mobile
receiver whose impulse response is inverse of the channel impulse response. Such equalizers
find their use in frequency selective fading channels.

The equalizer is a device that attempts to reverse the distortion incurred by a signal
transmitted through a channel. In digital communication its purpose is to reduce inter symbol
interference to allow recovery of the transmit symbols. It can be a simple !inear filter or a
complex algorithm.
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The types of commonly used equalizers in digital communications are:

Linear Equalizer: It processes the incoming signal with a linear filter.

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Zero forcing Equalizer: It approximates the inverse of the channel with a linear filter.
Decision feedback equalizer: It augments a linear equalizer by adding a filtered
version of previous symbol estimates to the original filter output filter.
Blind Equalizer: It estimates that the transmitted signal without knowledge of the ~ -
channel statistics and uses only knowledge of the transmitted signal's statistics.
Adaptive Equalizer: It is typically a linear equalizer which updates the equalizer
parameters (such as the filter coefficients) as it is processes the data.
• Viterbi Equalizer: It Finds the optimal solution to the equalization problem. It is having
a goal to minimize the probability of making an error over the entire sequence.
BCJR Equalizer: It uses the BCJR algorithm whose goal is to minimize the probability
that a given bit was incorrectly estimated.

Turbo Equalizer: It applies turbo decoding while treating the channel as a

convolutional code.

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Figure 2.3 General diagram of supervised equaliDtion system

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Wireless channels can exhibit delay dispersion. Delay dispersion leads to Inter-Symbol
lnterf~rence (ISi). Equalization is a technique used to combat Inter-Symbol Interference.
Equahz~rs a~e structures that reduce or eliminate ISi, and at the same time exploit the
d~lay .d1ve~1ty inherent in the channel. The operational principle of an equalizer can be
visualized either in the time domain or the frequency domain. In radio channels, a variety of
ada~tive e~ualizers can pe used to cancel interference while providing diversity. Since the
mobile fading channel is random and time varying, equalizers must track the time varying
characteristics of the mobile channel, and thus are called adaptive equalizers. The general
operating modes of an adaptive equalizer include training and tracking. First, a known,
fixed-length training sequence is sent by the transmitter so that the receiver's equalizer may
average to a proper setting. The training sequence is typically a pseudorandom binary signal~
or a fixed, prescribed bit pattern.

The adaptive equalizer is continually changing its filter characteristics over time. Time division
multiple access (TOMA) wireless systems are particularly well suited for equalizers. TOMA
systems send data in fixed-length time blocks, and the training sequence is usually sent at the
beginning of a block. Each time a new data block is received, the equalizer is retrained using
the same training sequence. An equalizer is usually implemented at baseband or at IF in a
receiver. Since the baseband complex envelope expression can be used to represent
bandpass waveforms, the channel response, demodulated signal, and adaptive equalizer
algorithms are usually simulated and implemented at baseband

Equalization I
If the modulation bandwidth exceeds the coherence bandwidth of the radio channel, ISi
occurs and modulation pulses are spread in time.
Equalization compensates for intersymbol interference (ISi) created by m.ultipath within time
dispersive channels. An equalizer within a receiver compensates for the average range of
expected channel amplitude and delay characteristics.
Equalizers must be adaptive since the channel is generally unknown and time varying

Operating modes of an adaptive equalizer I Training (first stage) I

A known fixed-length training sequence is sent by the transmitter so that the receiver's
equalizer may average to a proper setting.
The training sequence is designed to permit an equalizer at the receiver to acquire the proper
filter coefficients in the worst possible channel conditions The training sequence is typically a
pseudorandom binary signal or a fixed, prescribed bit pattern. Immediately following the
training sequence, the user data is sent.
The time span over which an equalizer converges is a function of
1. the equalizer algorithm
2. the equalizer structure
3. the time rate of change of the multipath radio channel.
4. Equalizers require periodic retraining in order to maintain effective ISi cancellation.
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nd stage)
Operating modes of an adaptive equalizer I Tracking (seco
is sent.
Immediately following the training sequence, the user data

r As user data are received, the adaptive algorithm of the equal

and adjusts its filter characteristics over time.
izer tracks the changing channel

user data is segmented into short

commonly used in digital communication systems where
time blocks. •
izers. data in fixed-length time
TOMA wireless systems are particularly well suited for equal
a block
blocks, training sequence_ usually sent at the beginning of