US Patent 9379920 Decision feedback equalization with precursor inter-symbol interference reduction

In a receiver, a decision feedback equalizer (“DFE”) receives an analog input signal. The DFE includes a subtraction block for subtracting weighted postcursor decisions from an analog input signal to provide an analog output signal. A postcursor decision block coupled to the DFE compares the analog output signal against positive and negative values of a postcursor coefficient to provide first and second possible decisions for selecting a current postcursor-based decision therebetween responsive to a previous postcursor-based decision. A precursor cancellation block receives the analog output signal, the previous postcursor-based decision and the current postcursor-based decision for providing a digital output signal for a previous sample of the analog input signal.