Linearization of LED nonlinearity by predistortions

Light-emitting diode (LED) nonlinear differential gain (DG) and differential phase (DP) were measured, since they are important performance factors in video signal transmission. Typical, experimentally measured temperature dependence of DG and DP is also presented. A linearizing method for minimizing LED DG and DP distortions, using predistortion, is proposed and experimentally examined. With this technique, and with precise adjustment of the predistortion circuits, the DG of a typical LED was improved from 12.5 percent to less than 1 percent, and the DP from 2.8° to 1°. This corresponds to an improvement in second and third-order harmonic distortions of 19 dB and 21 dB, respectively. DG and DP were measured with respect to the 3.58-MHz color subcarrier frequency superimposed on the 15.75-kHz horizontal scanning sawtooth wave. The linearization stability with regard to temperature variation was lowered to be less than 1-percent DG and 1° DP in the temperature range from 15 to 45°C.