New data detection and symbol timing recovery approaches for burst optical signal transmission

Burst mode receivers are key components of optical transmission systems and have received much attention in recent years. We present new efficient methods for burst optical signal detection and blind channel estimation in burst-mode data transmission based on a modified K-means clustering technique. A data-aided feedforward symbol timing recovery method is also developed, based on polynomial interpolation and maximum likelihood estimation theory. It can be implemented rapidly and efficiently; therefore, it is suitable for burst mode receivers. A performance criterion of this method has also been derived. We also give some numerical examples to demonstrate the performance of the proposed methods.