Non-linear Equalization in 112 Gb/s PONs Using Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks

We investigate Kolmogorov-Arnold networks (KANs) for non-linear equalization of 112 Gb/s PAM4 passive optical networks (PONs). Using pruning and extensive hyperparameter search, we outperform linear equalizers and convolutional neural networks at low computational complexity.
Comment: Submitted for possible publication at Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2025