Self-phase-modulation-based 2R regenerator including pulse compression and offset filtering for 42.6 Gbit/s RZ-33%...

Area of Science:

• Optical Communications
• Nonlinear Optics
• Signal Processing

Background:

• High-speed optical transmission systems face challenges from intrachannel nonlinear effects and scattering.
• Existing regenerators may struggle to mitigate these detrimental phenomena effectively at high data rates.
• Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a key nonlinear effect in optical fibers that can be harnessed for signal processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the performance of a self-phase-modulation-based regenerator at 42.6 Gbit/s.
• To identify and address detrimental effects like intrachannel interactions and Brillouin scattering.
• To propose and experimentally validate an efficient solution combining a pulse compressor with the regenerator.

Main Methods:

• Experimental and theoretical study of a 42.6 Gbit/s return-to-zero (33% format) optical signal.
• Implementation of a self-phase-modulation-based pulse compressor integrated with the regenerator.
• Performance evaluation using metrics such as sensitivity improvement, eye-opening, and bit-error rate (BER).

Main Results:

• Demonstration of a wavelength-transparent regenerator operating at 42.6 Gbit/s.
• Achieved a sensitivity improvement exceeding 5 dB.
• Observed a 2.3 dB improvement in eye-opening and a 10x increase in maximum transmission distance for a BER of 10(-4).

Conclusions:

• The proposed SPM-based regenerator effectively overcomes intrachannel interactions and Brillouin scattering.
• The integrated system offers significant performance enhancements for high-speed optical communication systems.
• This technology holds promise for extending transmission distances and improving signal integrity in future networks.