10-Gb/s Electrical Backplane Transmission using Duobinary Signaling

Electrical data transmission at 10-Gb/s through low cost backplanes is a particularly challenging problem. We present for the first time a very effective approach that uses the concept of duobinary signaling to accomplish this task. 

Using a finite impulse response (FIR) filter, we are able to compensate for the phase and rolloff response of the backplane such that the resulting frequency response of the channel is that of an ideal duobinary filter. At the output of the backplane, we use an innovative pseudo-digital circuit to convert the electrical duobinary to binary. 

We demonstrate a bit error rate <10 -9 through FR4 electrical backplane traces up to 34 inches in length. A full discussion of the concept, system architecture and measured results are presented.