Low Noise Non-Linear Equalization Using Neural Networks and Belief Propagation

Abstract: Nonlinearities can be introduced into communication systems by the physical components such as the power amplifier, or during signal propagation through a nonlinear channel. These nonlinearities can be compensated by a nonlinear equalizer at the receiver side. The nonlinear equalizer also operates on the additive noise, which can lead to noise enhancement. In this work we evaluate this trade-off between distortion reduction and noise-enhancement via nonlinear equalization techniques. We first, evaluate the trade-off between nonlinearity compensation and noise enhancement for the Volterra equalizer, and propose a method to determine the training SNR that optimizes this performance trade-off. We then propose a new approach for nonlinear equalization that alternates between neural networks (NNs) for nonlinearity compensation, and belief propagation (BP) for noise removal. This new approach achieves a 0.6 dB gain compared to the Volterra equalizer with the optimal training SNR, and a 1.7 dB gain compared to a system with no nonlinearity compensation.