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In this paper, we demonstrate a real-time high-resolution analogue-to-digital-based free-space optics system. We utilise a field-programmable gate array platform complete with system-on-chip to flexibly implement the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with up to 2048 sub-carriers and carrier-less amplitude and phase (m-CAP) modulation with up to 20 sub-bands in a real free-space optical link for the first time. We also consider high order modulation formats up to 64-QAM (6 bits/symbol) to achieve a raw data rate up to 1.8 Gb/s. Previous real-time free-space optics transceivers were either analog-based or restricted to on-off keying (1 bit/symbol). We emulate the fog environment utilising neutral density filters and evaluate the performance of the link under increasingly poor visibility conditions. We show that OFDM and m-CAP offer similar performances in the link environment, however, we finally show that m-CAP offers increased robustness and receiver sensitivity in low visibility settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the impact of two pulse shapes on the performance of a real-time free-space optical communication link. The two candidate pulse shapes are the square-root raised cosine and Xia pulse, respectively which are tested as the basis function for multi-band carrier-less amplitude and phase modulation. We first develop a real-time system based on a Xilinx Zynq ZCU102 system-on-chip platform utilising a high-resolution analogue-to-digital-converter. We then generate multi-band carrier-less amplitude and phase modulation formats using it and test the error vector magnitude whilst varying parameters. We emulate the fog environment utilising neutral density filters and evaluate the error performance of the link under increasingly poor visibility conditions. We show that contrary to previous reports, the SRRC pulse shape offers superior performance over the first-order Xia pulse in the FSO environment operating at data rates exceeding 1 Gb/s.

Occupying more channels increases transmission rate, however, crosstalk increases to an unacceptable level long before all 24 channels can be exploited. The crosstalk is not uniform between modes, hence occupying different subsets of channels leads to vastly different achievable transmission capacities. In addition to optimizing occupied subsets of channels, we adopt a bit loading approach. We examine several resource allocation strategies in a coherent detection system, starting with typical OAM mode group granularity (all channels in a group occupied) and ending with single channel granularity. By exhaustive search at mode group granularity, we find a bit load increasing the total capacity by $\sim$ 15% compared to a minimax solution for mode group allocation. Single channel granularity imposes great computational effort to optimize bit loading. We propose search algorithms that are computationally tractable and improve capacity by $\sim$ 30% vis-à-vis the minimax solution for mode groups. Finally, we examine the impact of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and receiver digital signal processing (DSP) complexity on the overall capacity. We include a discussion of DSP with limited or with no multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) processing.Our algorithms could be applied to any mode multiplexing fiber, as it only relies on knowledge of the crosstalk matrix across modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel adaptive weighted geometric‐shaped (GS) 61 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellation is proposed in order to mitigate the nonlinear damage and increase the transmission distance. By introducing an adaptive weighting factor related to Kerr effect and fiber transmission distance in concentric regular hexagon constellation, the overlapping problem of the outer constellation points induced by nonlinear damage was reduced. The simulation results show that the proposed GS‐61QAM outperformed uniform 64QAM and has more obvious advantages in long‐haul optical transmission system. For a 120‐Gb/s coherent optical communication system, compared with uniform 64QAM, the proposed algorithm can obtain about 4.1 dB optical signal‐to‐noise (OSNR) gain at the BER of 10−2. Moreover, in order to further improve the system tolerance of nonlinearity, a scheme of adaptive weighted GS‐61QAM in coherent optical communication system utilizing K‐Means algorithm is proposed, the proposed scheme outperforms the traditional uniform 64QAM communication system by 5 dB in OSNR at the BER of 10−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel fast‐adaptive weighted hybrid‐shaped M‐ary quadrature amplitude modulation (HS‐MQAM) format is proposed in this paper. By introducing a fast‐adaptive weighting factor array related to geometric shaping and probabilistic shaping, the non‐linear impairment is mitigated and the bit error rate (BER) and mutual information (MI) performances are further improved. The simulation results show that the proposed HS‐61QAM outperforms both geometric‐shaped 61 quadrature amplitude modulation (GS‐61QAM) and regular 64QAM, and has more obvious advantages in the long‐haul optical transmission system. For a 120‐Gb/s optical communication system over 10 × 75 km fiber transmission link, compared with GS‐61QAM and regular 64QAM, the proposed approach can achieve about 4.2 and 8 dB OSNR gain at the BER of 10−2, and 0.21 and 0.55 bits/symbol MI gain at the OSNR of 22 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel probabilistically shaped amplitude and pulse position modulation (APPM) based on stepped amplitude probability distribution for optical access networks. By adopting the probabilistic shaping (PS) technique, average signal power can be reduced and better bit error rate (BER) performance obtained. The proposed PS‐APPM scheme has been successfully verified in a 25‐km standard single‐mode fiber (SSMF). Experiment results show that at a BER of 1 × 10−3, the proposed 4 × 16 APPM‐PS1 and 4 × 16 APPM‐PS2 outperform the traditional 4 × 16 APPM by 1.54 and 2.52 dB receiver sensitivity improvement, while the proposed 8 × 8 APPM‐PS1 and 8 × 8 APPM‐PS2 excel the traditional 8 × 8 APPM by 2.1 and 3.5 dB at a BER of 1 × 10−2, suggesting the advanced nature of the proposed scheme for future optical access networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we propose a geometric shaping (GS) strategy to design 8, 16, 32, and 64-ary modulation formats for the optical fibre channel impaired by both additive white Gaussian (AWGN) and phase noise. The constellations were optimised to maximise generalised mutual information (GMI) using a mismatched channel model. The presented formats demonstrate an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) tolerance in high phase noise regimes when compared with their quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or AWGN-optimised counterparts. By putting the optimisation results in the context of the 400ZR implementation agreement, we show that GS alone can either relax the laser linewidth (LW) or carrier phase estimation (CPE) requirements of 400 Gbit/s transmission links and beyond. Following the GMI validation, the performance of the presented formats was examined in terms of post forward error correction (FEC) bit-error-rate (BER) for a soft decision (SD) extended Hamming code (128, 120), implemented as per the 400ZR implementation agreement. We demonstrate gains of up to 1.2 dB when compared to the 64-ary AWGN shaped formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visible light communications (VLCs) have attracted considerable interest in recent years owing to the potential to simultaneously achieve data transmission and illumination using low-cost light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, the high-speed capability of such links is typically limited by the low bandwidth of LEDs. As a result, spectrally efficient advanced modulation formats have been considered for use in VLC links in order to mitigate this issue and enable higher data rates. Carrierless amplitude and phase (CAP) modulation is one such spectrally efficient scheme that has attracted significant interest in recent years owing to its good potential and practical implementation. In this paper, we introduce the basic features of CAP modulation and review its use in the context of indoor VLC systems. We describe some of its attributes and inherent limitations, present related advances aiming to improve its performance and potential and report on recent experimental demonstrations of LED-based VLC links employing CAP modulation. This article is part of the theme issue 'Optical wireless communication'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometrically shaped (GS) 8-, 16, and 32-ary modulation formats are investigated for use in coherent passive optical networks. The modulation formats are designed to improve receiver sensitivity when paired with a binary, soft-decision forward error correction code (SD-FEC), such as a low density parity check (LDPC). Herein we consider the LDPC code specified in the draft 50G EPON standard, and show how this type of code can be particularly advantageous in a coherent transmission system. A receiver sensitivity of $-$ 26.7 dBm is achieved at a post-FEC bit error rate below 3.8 $\times 10^{-6}$ for a polarization-scrambled 32-ary GS modulation format at 25 GBd, received using a single-polarization, phase-diverse coherent receiver. This yielded a bit rate of 100 Gbit/s, net of coding and pilot overhead. This modulation format was shown to perform equally well in transmission, with no observed dispersion penalty after 80 km standard single mode fiber. Finally, this modulation format was received, at a reduced data rate of 50 Gbit/s, using a heterodyne coherent receiver based on a single balanced photodiode. The receiver sensitivity for this simplified receiver configuration was $-$ 28.5 dBm, yielding a power budget of 34.2 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate transmission of a 200-Gb/s superchannel over 3-km single-mode optical fiber (SMF) targeting intra-data center interconnect applications using a novel single-section quantum-well passive-mode-locked laser that generates an optical frequency comb. The transmitted optical signal consists of 16 subcarriers filtered from the optical frequency comb of the laser and modulated with an advanced modulation format of Baudrate-pilot-aided quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation that enables direct detection. Bit error rates below the forward error correction limit have been confirmed for all subcarriers, and the detailed noise characteristics of the passive-mode-locked laser have been investigated to support the understanding of the system performance.

Keeping up with bandwidth requirements in next generation short- and long-reach optical communication systems will require migrating from simple modulation formats such as on-off keying to more advanced formats such as quaternary phase-shift keying (QPSK). In this paper, we report the first demonstration of QPSK signal generation in the O-band using a silicon dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM). The performance of the silicon DD-MZM is assessed at 20 Gb/s and compared against a similar DD-MZM based on LiNbO3, showing a limited implementation power penalty of only 1.5 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate an all-optical wavelength conversion system based on four-wave mixing in semiconductor optical amplifiers for quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) signals using tunable dual-correlated pumps provided by the combination of a quantum dash passively mode-locked laser (QD-PMLL) and a programmable tunable optical filter. We investigate the effects of additional phase noise transfer to the wavelength converted idler due to non-ideal correlation between the comb lines of the QD-PMLL. Our studies of the wavelength conversion of QPSK and 16-QAM signals at 12.5 Gbaud using the proposed scheme find that the bit error rate performance was below the 7% forward error correction (FEC) limit over a range of pump spacing exceeding 300 GHz for QPSK signals, and conversion of 16-QAM signals was limited by the wavelength conversion scheme though was nonetheless below the 20% FEC limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber nonlinear (NLI) noise, as well as amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise, degrades the performance of coherent optical fiber communications. We find that the temporal distribution of NLI noise, which is unlike that of ASE noise and depends on the waveform of signal pulse, has an impact on the estimation of error vector magnitude (EVM) and bit error ratio (BER). The influences of NLI noise, as well as ASE noise, on EVM and BER are analyzed for quadrature phase-shift keying and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation systems. Modified theoretical formulas are proposed to estimate EVM and BER for the system under the effect of NLI noise, ASE noise, or mixing of these two noises. For system with mixing of ASE and NLI noises, according to our model, the optimal channel power for the best EVM is not corresponding to the best optical-signal-to-noise ratio. Our model is validated by numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the IRIS (Integrated Router Interconnected spectrally), an optical domain architecture for datacenter network is analyzed. The IRIS integrated with advanced modulation formats (M-QAM) and coherent optical receiver is analyzed. The channel impairments are compensated using the DSP algorithms following the coherent receiver. The proposed scheme allows N2 multiplexed wavelengths for N×N size. The performance of the N×N-IRIS switch with and without wavelength conversion is analyzed for different Baud rates over M-QAM modulation formats. The performance of the system is analyzed in terms of bit error rate (BER) vs OSNR curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a time domain method for extracting coefficients of nonlinear Volterra-series kernels for white light-emitting diodes (LED) used both for illumination and visible light communications. We show that this method may have several advantages over the thus far more popular frequency domain method. We successfully apply the measured kernel coefficients up to the 3rd order for the modeling of nonlinear distortion impact on advanced modulation formats: pulse amplitude modulation, carrierless amplitude phase and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing. The impact of blue filtering on dynamic nonlinearity is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed and experimentally demonstrated a wavelength-space division multiplexing (WSDM) optical access network architecture with centralized optical carrier delivery utilizing multicore fibers (MCFs) and adaptive modulation based on reflective semiconductor amplifier (RSOA). In our experiment, five of the outer cores are used for undirectional downstream (DS) transmission only, whereas the remaining outer core is utilized as a dedicated channel to transmit upstream (US) signals. Optical carriers for US are delivered from the optical line terminal (OLT) to the optical network unit (ONU) via the inner core and then transmitted back to the OLT after amplification and modulation by the RSOA in the colorless ONU side. The mobile backhaul (MB) service is also supported by the inner core. Wavelengths used in US transmission should be different from that of the MB in order to avoid the Rayleigh backscattering effect in bidirectional transmission. With quadrature phase-shift keying--orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (QPSK-OFDM) modulation format, the aggregation DS capacity reaches 250 Gb/s using five outer cores and ten wavelengths, and it can be further scaled to 1 Tb/s using 20 wavelengths modulated with 16 QAM-OFDM. For US transmission, 2.5 Gb/s QPSK-OFDM transmission can be achieved just using a low-bandwidth RSOA, and adaptive modulation is applied to the RSOA to further enhance the US data rate to 3.12 Gb/s. As an emulation of high-speed MB transmission, 48 Gb/s in-phase and quadrature (IQ) modulated popularization division multiplexing (PDM)-QPSK signal is transmitted in the inner core of MCF and coherently detected in the OLT side. Both DS and US optical signals exhibit acceptable performance with sufficient power budget.

In this paper, we present a novel digital preemphasis algorithm to compensate for the electrical bandwidth limitations at the transceiver also by taking into account the quantization noise introduced by the signal digitalization. The proposed method is based on the minimization of the mean square error between the desired input signals and the output signals of the digital-to-analog converter/analog-to-digital converter (DAC/ADC), when assuming the knowledge of the DAC/ADC frequency responses. Though this paper focuses on the DAC/ADC compensation, the introduced method could be applied to electrical bandwidth limitations caused by any other component within the transponder. The performance of the algorithm is assessed in optical back-to-back configuration by comparing it against the case without digital preemphasis and with a previously published method to compensate for DAC bandwidth limitations. Our analysis shows that when utilizing realistic descriptions of the DAC/ADC, the proposed digital preemphasis (at the transmitter) or digital compensation (at the transmitter and receiver) can considerably increase the maximum transmittable symbol rate for the case of advanced modulation formats. For example, the maximum symbol rate can be ideally increased up to $\sim$ 60% for the case of 16QAM when employing the high-speed DAC with a $-$3 dB electrical bandwidth of $\sim$ 16 GHz and with six effective number of bits. Furthermore, we evaluate the impact of additional noise sources, based on experimental measurements, envisioning potential for further improvements of the digital preemphasis module. Finally, we experimentally verified our algorithm, for the specific case of polarization-multiplexed 16QAM, showing a considerable match between simulation and lab results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increase in transmission symbol-rate as well as order of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is identified as the most economical way to reduce cost per transmitted bit. In particular, next generation transponders aim at supporting data-rates up to 1 Tb/s employing superchannels due to electrical components’ bandwidth limitations. Furthermore, the introduction of a flexible-grid architecture can maximize throughput by minimizing spectral gaps in available optical spectrum. Keeping in view these design options, we conducted several high capacity experiments with tier1 operator Orange using their field deployed standard single mode fiber (SSMF, G.652), having a total length of 762 km, connecting the cities Lyon and Marseille in France. In particular we employed four subcarriers per Tb/s superchannel, each modulated by PM-16QAM, PM-32QAM, and PM-64QAM with per carrier symbol-rates of 41.2 GBd, 33 GBd, and 34 GBd, respectively. The subcarrier spacing was 50 GHz for the PM-16QAM case and 37.5 GHz for both the PM-32QAM and PM-64QAM cases allowing in total 24 \times 1.0, 32 \times 1.0, and 32 \times 1.2 Tb/s superchannels over C-band and resulting in potential C-band capacities of 24.0, 32.0, and 38.4 Tb/s, respectively. After field transmission the maximum available margin compared to the required \rm {OSNR_{0.1\,nm}} at forward error correction (FEC) threshold was 8.2, 5.4, and 4.2 dB for PM-16QAM, PM-32QAM, and PM-64QAM, respectively. The transmission reach for PM-16QAM and PM-32QAM modulated superchannels was extended to \sim$1571 and $\sim$ 1065 km using erbium doped fiber amplified SSMF spans of $\sim$101 km length. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent advances in the density and complexity of photonic integrated circuits have facilitated possible implementation of chip-scale optical communication systems. Chip-scale optical interconnects and optical data processing are two important functions to transmit and process signal in the optical domain. Silicon photonics offers a promising platform to enable chip-scale optical interconnects and optical data processing using silicon photonic devices. In this paper, we review our recent progress in the design, modeling, and fabrication of silicon photonic devices and their applications in chip-scale optical interconnects and optical data processing with advanced modulation formats. For chip-scale optical interconnects, we experimentally demonstrate digital signal transmissions in silicon microring and silicon vertical slot waveguide. Terabit chip-scale optical interconnect is demonstrated in the experiment. Also, we experimentally demonstrate analog signal transmissions in silicon microring and silicon photonic crystal nanocavity. For chip-scale optical data processing, we experimentally demonstrate all-optical wavelength conversion using a silicon waveguide, simultaneous polarization and wavelength demultiplexing using 2D grating coupler connected with microrings, two-mode (de)multiplexing using a tapered asymmetrical grating-assisted contra-directional coupler, and two-/three-mode (de)multiplexing using asymmetrical directional converter. In addition, we propose and simulate chip-scale optical data exchange, chip-scale high-base optical computing, and chip-scale optical coding/decoding by using nonlinear interactions in a silicon-organic hybrid slot waveguide. The obtained theoretical and experimental results of chip-scale optical interconnects and optical data processing indicate possible integration of optical communication functions on a monolithic chip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate transmission of a 200-Gb/s superchannel over 3-km single-mode optical fiber (SMF) targeting intra-data center interconnect applications using a novel single-section quantum-well passive-mode-locked laser that generates an optical frequency comb. The transmitted optical signal consists of 16 subcarriers filtered from the optical frequency comb of the laser and modulated with an advanced modulation format of Baudrate-pilot-aided quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation that enables direct detection. Bit error rates below the forward error correction limit have been confirmed for all subcarriers, and the detailed noise characteristics of the passive-mode-locked laser have been investigated to support the understanding of the system performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a demonstration of a seven level duobinary-4-PAM signal operating at 10.16 Gbit/s. The polybinary generation is achieved by a simple electrical Bessel filter of 5th order, with a frequency cut-off of 1.8 GHz. We assess the impact of the filter placement, either at the transmitter or the receiver, and find the impact is minimal in terms of bit error rate performance in transmissions of up to 40 km of single mode fiber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hybrid III-V/silicon semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) is presented, which shows a maximum fiber-to-fiber gain of 10 dB and a maximum internal gain around 28 ± 2 dB. The device was fabricated from III-V material wafer-bonded onto a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The optical mode transfers between silicon and III-V waveguides by means of waveguide tapers. Vertical grating couplers are used to connect the SOA to optical fibers. The device was packaged and tested in a transmission experiment. In a loop configuration containing 25 km of single-mode fiber, the SOA amplifies data signals of various modulation formats. Transmission with a bit error rate below the forward error correction limit is demonstrated for up to ten loops using QPSK, six loop using 8QAM, and four loops using 16QAM. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a method which is able to monitor the chromatic dispersion (CD) and identify the modulation format (MF) of optical signals simultaneously. This method utilizes the features of the output curve of the highly sensitive all-optical CD monitor based on four wave mixing (FWM). From the symmetric center of the curve CD can be estimated blindly and independently, while from the profile and convergence region of the curve ten commonly used modulation formats can be recognized with simple algorithm based on maximum correlation classifier. This technique does not need any high speed optoelectronics and has no limitation on signal rate. Furthermore it can tolerate large CD distortions and is robust to polarization mode dispersion (PMD) and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the performance of all-optical wavelength conversion (WC) of Nyquist-WDM superchannels is investigated for future implementation in optical networks. We consider advanced modulation formats of DQPSK and 16-QAM for the subchannel modulation format achieving raw bit rates of 448 and 896 Gb/s, respectively. We demonstrate through simulations the WC of Nyquist-WDM superchannel using degenerate and nondegenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). We consider the effects of raised cosine (RC) and root raised cosine (RRC) signal pulse shaping within the wavelength conversion process. We find that the performance of the converted superchannel is severely impaired by crosstalk due to cross-gain modulation of the pump by the superchannel. Optimum performance of the converted superchannel is achieved by setting the detuning between the continuous-wave pump and the central wavelength of the superchannel to be around 200 GHz and using pumps of double the gain saturation power of the SOA with 23 dB pump to signal power ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We proposed and experimentally demonstrated a wavelength-space division multiplexing (WSDM) optical access network architecture with centralized optical carrier delivery utilizing multicore fibers (MCFs) and adaptive modulation based on reflective semiconductor amplifier (RSOA). In our experiment, five of the outer cores are used for undirectional downstream (DS) transmission only, whereas the remaining outer core is utilized as a dedicated channel to transmit upstream (US) signals. Optical carriers for US are delivered from the optical line terminal (OLT) to the optical network unit (ONU) via the inner core and then transmitted back to the OLT after amplification and modulation by the RSOA in the colorless ONU side. The mobile backhaul (MB) service is also supported by the inner core. Wavelengths used in US transmission should be different from that of the MB in order to avoid the Rayleigh backscattering effect in bidirectional transmission. With quadrature phase-shift keying--orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (QPSK-OFDM) modulation format, the aggregation DS capacity reaches 250 Gb/s using five outer cores and ten wavelengths, and it can be further scaled to 1 Tb/s using 20 wavelengths modulated with 16 QAM-OFDM. For US transmission, 2.5 Gb/s QPSK-OFDM transmission can be achieved just using a low-bandwidth RSOA, and adaptive modulation is applied to the RSOA to further enhance the US data rate to 3.12 Gb/s. As an emulation of high-speed MB transmission, 48 Gb/s in-phase and quadrature (IQ) modulated popularization division multiplexing (PDM)-QPSK signal is transmitted in the inner core of MCF and coherently detected in the OLT side. Both DS and US optical signals exhibit acceptable performance with sufficient power budget. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report on the first experimental demonstration of superposition coded modulation (SCM) for polarization-multiplexed coherent-detection optical fiber links. The proposed coded modulation scheme is combined with phase-shifted bit-to-symbol mapping (PSM) in order to achieve geometric and passive shaping of the signal's waveform. The output constellations in SCM-PSM exhibit nonbijective quasi-Gaussian statistical distributions that asymptotically reach the Shannon capacity limit, showing up to 0.7 dB sensitivity improvement for 256-ary SCM-PSM with respect to 256-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). The characteristic wave formation based on superposition of antipodal symbols and the lack of need for additional encoders for signal shaping, greatly reduces the transmitter and receiver processing complexity in comparison to conventional alternatives. Single-level coding strategy (SL-SCM) is employed in the framework of bit-interleaved coded modulation with iterative decoding (BICM-ID) for forward error correction. The fiber transmission system is characterized in terms of signal-to-noise ratio for back-to-back case and correlated with simulated results for ideal transmission over additive white Gaussian noise channel. Thereafter, successful demodulation and decoding after dispersion-unmanaged transmission over 240-km standard single mode fiber of dual-polarization 6-Gbaud 16-, 32- and 64-ary SCM-PSM is experimentally demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

All-optical wavelength conversion (WC) of advanced modulation formats could have a significant role in the next generation of high-capacity optical networks. Four-wave mixing (FWM) occurring within a semiconductor optical amplifier is one of the most advantageous methods to implement all-optical WC. We demonstrate the WC of 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) using degenerate and nondegenerate FWM in a semiconductor optical amplifier. We pay particular attention to the phase noise transfer from the pump(s) to the converted signal. The class of laser that can be used as the pump source to implement the scheme is highlighted by the calculations of the required pump laser linewidths to achieve specific system bit error rate performance at the forward error correction threshold. Our results are consistent with theories of phase noise transfer between the pump and converted signals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article experimentally demonstrates a hybrid fiber–free-space passive optical network that enables high spectral density, aggregated capacity, and total throughput through ultra-dense wavelength-division multiplexing baseband and radio-over-fiber channels. Ultra-dense wavelength-division multiplexing 10-Gb/s Nyquist-shaped 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation, 10-Gb/s radio-over-fiber orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, and 8.75-Gb/s baseband orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing signals per user were transmitted through a maximum 40-km passive optical network, which includes a 6-m free-space optics link with acceptable performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, joint estimation of carrier frequency, phase, signal means and noise variance, in a maximum likelihood sense, is performed iteratively by employing expectation maximization. The parameter estimation is soft decision driven and allows joint carrier synchronization and data detection. The algorithm is tested in a mixed line rate optical transmission scenario employing dual polarization 448 Gb/s 16-QAM signal surrounded by eight on-off keying channels in a 50 GHz grid. It is shown that joint carrier synchronization and data detection are more robust towards optical transmitter impairments and nonlinear phase noise, compared to digital phase-locked loop (PLL) followed by hard decisions. Additionally, soft decision driven joint carrier synchronization and detection offers an improvement of 0.5 dB in terms of input power compared to hard decision digital PLL based carrier synchronization and demodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Next-generation optical communication systems will continue to push the ( bandwidth · distance) product towards its physical limit. To address this enormous demand, the usage of digital signal processing together with advanced modulation formats and coherent detection has been proposed to enable data-rates as high as 400 Gb/s per channel over distances in the order of 1000 km. These technological breakthroughs have been made possible by full compensation of linear fiber impairments using digital equalization algorithms. While linear equalization techniques have already matured over the last decade, the next logical focus is to explore solutions enabling the mitigation of the Kerr effect induced nonlinear channel impairments. One of the most promising methods to compensate for fiber nonlinearities is digital back-propagation (DBP), which has recently been acknowledged as a universal compensator for fiber propagation impairments, albeit with high computational requirements. In this paper, we discuss two proposals to reduce the hardware complexity required by DBP. The first confirms and extends published results for non-dispersion managed link, while the second introduces a novel method applicable to dispersion managed links, showing complexity reductions in the order of 50% and up to 85%, respectively. The proposed techniques are validated by comparing results obtained through post-processing of simulated and experimental data, employing single channel and WDM configurations, with advanced modulation formats, such as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM). The considered net symbol rate for all cases is 25 GSymbol/s. Our post-processing results show that we can significantly reduce the hardware complexity without affecting the system performance. Finally, a detailed analysis of the obtained reduction is presented for the case of dispersion managed link in terms of number of required complex multiplications per transmitted bit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report on the experimental demonstration of a GaAs IQ modulator. The device consists of two “nested” Mach-Zehnder modulators for the inphase and quadrature component and is operated at a symbol rate of 25 GBd. Using QPSK, 16QAM, 32QAM and 64QAM, data rates of up to 150 Gbit/s were encoded on a single carrier in one polarization. The individual Mach-Zehnder modulators, and hence, the IQ-modulator have an electro-optic 3 dB bandwidth of 27 GHz and a 6 dB bandwidth larger than 35 GHz. The extinction ratio of the Mach-Zehnder exceeds 20 dB. The devices exhibit small footprint of 2 mm × 40 mm and can be integrated on large-area GaAs wafers using high-yield fabrication processes while providing performance similar to established lithium niobate devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: We calculate the pump laser linewidths required to achieve specific system performance when undertaking wavelength conversion of DQPSK data signals at 10 and 25 Gbaud using four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier. The results highlight the class of laser that can be used to implement this scheme. We show that the limits are consistent with expected theories and indicate guidelines for implementing multiple wavelength conversions using this scheme in an optical network. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Lasers with narrow-linewidth emission are a key component for higher-order modulation formats. We report on discrete-mode laser diodes designed for narrow-linewidth emission and demonstrate linewidths less than 80 kHz. Using these devices in quadrature phase shift keying and 16-quadrature amplitude modulation transmission setups, similar performance to that of an external cavity laser is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A simple scheme to generate optical quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals is proposed based on different types of delay interferometers (DIs). The simulated results show that 16QAM, 64QAM and 256 QAM optical signals can be generated by 2×2, 3×3 and 4×4 DI, respectively, and the outputs of the proposed scheme are similar to those of the conventional schemes. The operation principle is discussed and the transmission properties of the square 16QAM as well as 64QAM signals are analyzed and compared with common approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses transmission aspects on very high aggregate wavelength-division multiplexing based passive optical networks (WDM-PON). The ultradense WDM-PON system evaluated in this paper transports high-order modulation formats such as M-ary phase-shift keying (PSK) and M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) in which coherent detection is performed at the optical network unit (ONU), after transmission over 25 km, 60 km, and 100 km of standard single-mode fiber (SSMF). The first part of this work covers the impact on the system's performance of the most relevant fiber nonlinearities such as self-phase modulation (SPM), cross-phase modulation (XPM) and four-wave mixing (FWM), and their interplay between transmission distance and modulation format. Using a Volterra series method allows estimating the error vector magnitude (EVM) of the received constellation related to different fiber nonlinearities. In a 32 × 625 Mbaud system spaced by 3 GHz (0.025 nm), the FWM to XPM ratio (F/X) varied from 25 up to 30 dB for phase-modulated signals (1.25 Gb/s-QPSK and 1.875 Gb/s-8PSK). On the other hand, this ratio ranged from 2.6 to 7.4 dB for amplitude-modulated signals (2.5 Gb/s-16QAM, 3.75 Gb/s-64QAM and 5 Gb/s-256QAM). After applying a frequency-allocation scheme at both transmitter and local oscillator lasers, some of the FWM crosstalk is mitigated by 2.4 to 3.5 dB. This EVM reduction confirms that increasing the transmission distance and the order of the constellation, the system's performance becomes limited by both interchannel FWM and XPM. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: In this paper we report on the characterization of a narrow linewidth three-section tunable slotted Fabry–Perot laser. The SMSR of the 25 available 100-GHz ITU channels is above 30dB, whereas their average linewidth is 538kHz with a maximum below 800kHz. The RIN spectra of six different channels are also measured and a maximum average RIN of −135dB/Hz is obtained. The linewidth effect of the laser in a 1.25Gb/s DPSK transmission system is investigated by comparing the performance between the slotted Fabry–Perot laser and a commercial SG-DBR laser respectively. Error free transmission of the slotted Fabry-Perot laser shows the benefit of the narrow linewidth of the device for systems employing advanced modulation formats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sensitivities of several direct-detection multilevel modulation formats, including M-ary differential phase-shift keying (M-DPSK), M-ary differential amplitude-phase-shift keying (M-DAPSK), and M-ary differential polarization-phase-shift keying (M-DPolPSK) are systematically calculated. The theory is based on a unified mathematical framework for direct-detection receivers using optical delay interferometers and balanced detectors. Results quantitatively elucidate the tradeoffs between these direct-detection multilevel modulation formats as well as the classic multilevel modulation format, M-ary amplitude-shift keying (M-ASK). Although the conventional bit error rate estimation method based on the eye Q-factor with Gaussian approximation is not accurate enough for DPSK and DQPSK, it is found to be reasonably accurate for M-DPSK with M>8 and in M-DPolPSK [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]