Fiber-optic communication systems form the high-capacity transport infrastructure that enables global broadband data services and advanced Internet applications. The desire for higher per-fiber transport capacities and, at the same time, the drive for lower costs per end-to-end transmitted information bit has led to optically routed networks with high spectral efficiencies. Among other enabling technologies, advanced optical modulation formats have become key to the design of modern wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) fiber systems. In this paper, we review optical modulation formats in the broader context of optically routed WDM networks. We discuss the generation and detection of multigigabit/s intensity- and phase-modulated formats, and highlight their resilience to key impairments found in optical networking, such as optical amplifier noise, multipath interference, chromatic dispersion, polarization-mode dispersion, WDM crosstalk, concatenated optical filtering, and fiber nonlinearity

Advanced Optical Modulation Formats

Advanced optical modulation formats have become a key ingredient to the design of modern wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) optically routed networks. In this paper, we review the generation and detection of multigigabit/second intensity- and phase-modulated formats and highlight their resilience to key impairments found in optical networking, such as optical amplifier noise, chromatic dispersion, polarization-mode dispersion, WDM crosstalk, concatenated optical filtering, and fiber nonlinearity

Advanced Modulation Formats for High-Capacity Optical Transport Networks

Signaling using oDQPSK offers great potential for application in 10 and 40 Gb/s DWDM transmission systems, offering increased spectral efficiency, relaxed dispersion management and improved PMD tolerance. Practical realization of encoder and decoder functionality through integration should lead to wide system application.

Optical differential quadrature phase-shift key (oDQPSK) for high capacity optical transmission

Information-theoretic limits to spectral efficiency in dense wavelength-division-multiplexed (DWDM) transmission systems are reviewed, considering various modulation techniques (unconstrained, constant-intensity, binary), detection techniques (coherent, direct), and propagation regimes (linear, nonlinear). Spontaneous emission from inline optical amplifiers is assumed to be the dominant noise source in all cases. Coherent detection allows use of two degrees of freedom per polarization, and its spectral efficiency limits are several b/s/Hz in typical terrestrial systems, even considering nonlinear effects. Using either constant-intensity modulation or direct detection, only one degree of freedom per polarization can be used, significantly reducing spectral efficiency. Using binary modulation, regardless of detection technique, spectral efficiency cannot exceed 1 b/s/Hz per polarization. When the number of signal and/or noise photons is small, the particle nature of photons must be considered. The quantum-limited spectral efficiency for coherent detection is slightly smaller than the classical capacity, but that for direct detection is 0.3 b/s/Hz higher than its classical counterpart. Various binary and nonbinary modulation techniques, in conjunction with appropriate detection techniques, are compared in terms of their spectral efficiencies and signal-to-noise ratio requirements, assuming amplified spontaneous emission is the dominant noise source. These include a) pulse-amplitude modulation with direct detection, b) differential phase-shift keying with interferometric detection, c) phase-shift keying with coherent detection, and d) quadrature-amplitude modulation with coherent detection.

/pdf/spectral-efficiency-limits-and-modulation-detection-3x3484f2pl.pdf

Spectral efficiency limits and modulation/detection techniques for DWDM systems

Wireless Optical Communication Systems addresses the problem of designing efficient signaling and provides a link between the areas of communication theory and modem design for amplitude constrained linear optical intensity channel. Topics include historical perspective, channel impairments, amplitude constraints and the characteristics of popular optoelectronic components. A variety of wireless optical channel topologies are presented along with a survey and analysis of present day signalling techniques employed for these channels. The author provides a unifying framework for signalling design which allows the channel constraints to be represented geometrically and permits the use of modem design principles from electrical channels. Modulation schemes are designed using the formalism of lattice codes and a design process for signalling sets is specified. The use of multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) wireless optical channels to improve the spectral efficiency of links is explored. The basic spatio-temporal modem design problem is specified and a spatial multiplexing gain is quantified. New spatial discrete multitone modulation is proposed and the unique features are discussed. Based on measurements on an experimental prototype, a channel model is formulated and a realizable spatio-temporal coding scheme is simulated to quantify performance gains. This volume is organized for professional and academic readers engaged in modem design for wireless optical intensity channels. Significant background material is presented on both the properties as well as on fundamental communications principles. Wireless Optical Communication Systems can be used by physicists and experimentalists as an introduction to signalling design as well as communication systems designers.

Wireless Optical Communication Systems

Polybinary, optical amplitude modulated phase shift keying (AM-PSK) polybinary, M-ary amplitude shift keying (ASK), and polyquaternary signaling schemes operating at 10 Gb/s are investigated in 1550-nm lightwave systems operating over standard, single-mode fiber. The premise for exploring these signal types is that they concentrate power at frequencies closer to the optical carrier where phase distortion of the optical field from chromatic dispersion is less severe. Issues such as modulator chirp, optimal level spacing in a 4-ary ASK signal, and phase modulated to amplitude modulated (PM-AM) noise conversion from a nonzero laser linewidth are studied. It is found that higher order polybinary signals do not offer an improvement in dispersion tolerance over a duobinary signal. 4-ary ASK is demonstrated to increase the dispersion-limited distance to 225 km experimentally and 350 km through simulation, but at the expense of a /spl sim/8 dB degradation in receiver sensitivity due to the increased number of levels and the signal dependence of signal-spontaneous beat noise. Furthermore, the linewidth requirement for a 4-ary ASK signal is less than 1 MHz in order to minimize the impact of PM-AM relative intensity noise (RIN) when transmitting over 200-300 km.

Multilevel signaling for increasing the reach of 10 Gb/s lightwave systems

Apparatus for generation of broadband vestigial sideband (VSB) signals primarily for transmission over optical fibers in which the carrier frequency is in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The modulating signal is normally a broadband digital signal. The apparatus includes an optical fiber, an optical signal source coupled to a modulator with first and second modulation signals modulating the carrier optical signal, plus a method of adding carrier optical signal to the modulator output optical signal and coupling to an output optical fiber. The modulation signals are selected such that an output optical signal transmitted along the optical fiber from the modulator has a vestigial single sideband. Part of the carrier optical signal is transmitted with the output optical signal through the use of a bypass loop or through an appropriate combination of the first and second modulation signals.

Optical modulation system

Bandwidth reduction methods and apparatus that offset the effects of dispersion on a signal transmitted through an optical fiber. The apparatus and methods employ a generator of modulated optical signals in cascade with a modulator. One of the generator and the modulator may be an optical intensity or amplitude modulator and the other a phase (or frequency) modulator. With the application of specific signals, the cascaded generator and modulator produce an optical signal with reduced energy in one half of the transmission bandwidth. One important benefit in the method is the fact that by exploiting the less obvious spectral characteristics of single sideband signals, a simple modulator design is achieved. All of the designs exploit a method of generating analytic signals via hybrid modulation.

Hybrid single sideband optical modulator

It is shown through numerical simulation that limiting the spectral occupancy of a duobinary optical signal, which can be achieved by an appropriate choice of electrical transmitter filter response, is necessary in order to receive a benefit from duobinary transmission in single-mode optical communication systems. It is explained why such band limiting gives an improvement in dispersion immunity, and why ideal duobinary signaling is ineffective. The results are in good agreement with published experimental work.

On the relationship between chromatic dispersion and transmitter filter response in duobinary optical communication systems

It is shown through numerical simulation that residual frequency chirping in lithium niobate external modulators, which accompanies devices with a finite-optical extinction ratio, always degrades the performance of lightwave systems that use optical AM-PSK duobinary signaling. This is unlike binary systems which will exhibit either an improvement or degradation, depending on the polarity of residual chirp.

J. Conradi

Papers

Multilevel signaling for increasing the reach of 10 Gb/s lightwave systems

Optical modulation system

Hybrid single sideband optical modulator

On the relationship between chromatic dispersion and transmitter filter response in duobinary optical communication systems

Effect of Mach-Zehnder modulator DC extinction ratio on residual chirp-induced dispersion in 10-Gb/s binary and AM-PSK duobinary lightwave systems