Systems and methods for transferring single-ended burst signal onto differential lines, especially for use in burst-mode receiver

A method for transferring incoming single-ended burst signals with at least one characteristic which varies widely from burst to burst onto a pair of differential lines, said method comprising the steps of:

• a) receiving an incoming burst signal on an input,
• b) adapting said at least one characteristic of the incoming burst signal by means of a signal adaptation block with at least one controllable adaptation element connected to said input,
• c) converting the burst signal to a differential signal to be placed on said pair of differential lines in forwards direction by means of a single-ended-to-differential converter connected to said signal adaptation block,
• d) detecting burst ends in said differential signal by means of an end-of-burst detector connected to said pair of differential lines,
• e) upon detection of one of said burst ends, generating a reset signal to be placed on said differential lines in backwards direction by means of a reset signal generator connected to said end-of-burst detector,
• f) receiving said reset signal by means of a reset signal receptor connected to said pair of differential lines backwards from said reset signal generator,
• g) upon receipt of said reset signal, controlling each adaptation element of said signal adaptation block on the basis of a measurement of an incoming burst by means of a settings determination block connected to said reset signal receptor and said signal adaptation block.

A system for transferring incoming single-ended burst signals with at least one characteristic which varies widely from burst to burst onto a pair of differential lines, said system comprising:

• an input for receiving an incoming burst signal, each incoming burst comprising a preamble and a subsequent data section;
• a signal adaptation block with at least one controllable adaptation element connected to said input and provided for adapting said at least one characteristic of the incoming burst signal;
• a single-ended-to-differential converter connected to said signal adaptation block for converting the burst signal to a differential signal to be placed on said pair of differential lines in forwards direction;
• a settings determination block connected to said signal adaptation block, for controlling each adaptation element of said signal adaptation block during treatment of said preamble on the basis of a measurement of the incoming burst;
• and
• a status freezing mechanism connected to said input and said settings determination block, for freezing each adaptation element of said signal adaptation block during treatment of said data section of each incoming burst.

A method for transferring incoming single-ended burst signals with at least one characteristic which varies widely from burst to burst onto a pair of differential lines, said method comprising the steps of:

• receiving an incoming burst signal on an input, each incoming burst comprising a preamble and a subsequent data section;
• adapting said at least one characteristic of the incoming burst signal by means of a signal adaptation block with at least one controllable adaptation element connected to said input;
• converting the burst signal to a differential signal to be placed on said pair of differential lines in forwards direction by means of a single-ended-to-differential converter connected to said signal adaptation block;
• controlling each adaptation element of said signal adaptation block during treatment of said preamble on the basis of a measurement of the incoming burst by means of a settings determination block connected to said signal adaptation block;
• and
• freezing each adaptation element of said signal adaptation block during treatment of said data section of each incoming burst by means of a status freezing mechanism connected to said input and said settings determination block.