Patent ID: 8243782

Claim:
Apparatus for adaptive equalization of a signal representing serial data, the apparatus comprising: a real-time eye monitor configured to monitor data eye characteristics in a data path circuit for a change in equalization parameters to generate eye statistics; at least one equalizer in a signal path circuit, each equalizer having a corresponding response; an adaptive controller configured to set, based on the eye statistics, the response of the at least one equalizer in the signal path circuit when the signal is present for statistical calibration of the data eye; wherein the eye monitor monitors the data eye and the adaptive controller re-sets each equalizer based on the eye statistics in a first manner when received data has a first allowed error rate; and wherein the eye monitor monitors the data eye and the adaptive controller re-sets each equalizer based on the eye statistics in a second manner when received data has a second allowed error rate that is lower than the first allowed error rate.