Adaptive Filter Tap Windowing for Low-SNR Waveguide Estimation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing digital coherent communication systems face challenges in accurately estimating differential group delay and polarization dependent loss when the signal-to-noise ratio of optical signals is below a predetermined value, leading to decreased estimation accuracy.

Innovation Solution

A waveguide estimation device and method that employs time window processing and threshold-based filtering of tap coefficients in a digital coherent receiver to improve the estimation accuracy of differential group delay and polarization dependent loss by selectively using tap coefficients within a time window and applying a time or frequency window function.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the number of taps of the adaptive filter is increased to compensate for large waveform distortion, then the compensation capability is improved, but the operation amount and power consumption of digital signal processing increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedistortion compensation capabilityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and processes only the significant tap coefficients by applying a time window function that concentrates energy around the peak tap. This selective processing approach allows the system to achieve effective distortion compensation using only a subset of the total taps, thereby reducing the operation amount and power consumption while maintaining compensation capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the tap coefficients into significant and insignificant portions based on their magnitude relative to the peak tap. By applying the time window function only to taps within a certain range of the peak (where the window function value exceeds a threshold), the system divides the processing workload into essential and non-essential parts, reducing overall computational burden.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If the number of taps of the adaptive filter is increased to handle large waveform distortion, then the compensation capability is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedistortion compensation capabilityVSAvoidfilter complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the significant tap coefficients that contribute meaningfully to distortion compensation. By identifying the peak tap and processing only taps within a certain distance from the peak (where the time window function exceeds a threshold), the system reduces the effective number of coefficients that need to be stored and processed, thereby reducing device complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a dynamic thresholding mechanism where the significance of each tap coefficient is determined by its distance from the peak tap and the value of the time window function. This dynamic approach allows the system to adaptively determine which taps are significant, reducing the fixed complexity of the filter while maintaining compensation capability for varying distortion levels.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Measurement precision

If standard estimation methods are used for differential group delay and polarization dependent loss, then the estimation process is simple, but the estimation accuracy decreases when signal-to-noise ratio is below a predetermined value

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveestimation accuracyVSAvoidnoise sensitivity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent converts the harmful effect of noise on estimation accuracy into a benefit by using the time window function to suppress noise in the tap coefficients before estimation. The window function concentrates the signal energy around the peak while attenuating noise components, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio for the estimation process and enabling accurate estimation even in low SNR conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies preliminary processing to the tap coefficients by multiplying them with the time window function before performing the estimation of differential group delay and polarization dependent loss. This preliminary action of windowing prepares the data by reducing noise and emphasizing significant components, thereby improving subsequent estimation accuracy without requiring changes to the estimation algorithms themselves.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP4344095B1Waveguide estimation device, waveguide estimation method, and program
Publication Date: 2026.02.18 NT T INC
  • EP4344095B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4344095B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4344095B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A waveguide estimation device includes: a time window processing unit that multiplies time-series tap coefficients of an adaptive filter by a time window function; and an estimation unit that estimates at least one of a differential group delay in a frequency series or a time series and a polarization dependent loss in a frequency series or a time series based on the time-series tap coefficients in a time window. The estimation unit may estimate at least one of the differential group delay in a frequency series or a time series and the polarization dependent loss in a frequency series or a time series based on a tap coefficient exceeding a lower limit threshold value or falling below an upper limit threshold value among the time-series tap coefficients in a time window. The estimation unit may estimate the average value of the differential group delays in a frequency series or a time series. The time window processing unit may determine the length of the time window based on a constant multiple of the average value.