It is expected that as the need for increased bandwidth continues unabated, there
will be need to upgrade transmission systems to 40 Gb/s or even 100 Gb/s while
keeping the same installed base and als o a need to enhance the reach and/or
performance at 10 Gb/s. Efforts have already been initiated within the IEEE802
committee to define the next Ethernet technolog y at higher speeds, likely to be an
aggregate of 100 Gb/s with serial data rate at 25 Gb/s or above. Analog equalizers
(40-Gb/s) have been realized with SiGe ICs [67]. The steady progress of very high-
speed A/D and D/A converters will enable DSP-based optical transmitters and
receivers that will provide high-performance optical communication systems. As
digital electronics continues to scale ...