Abstract

Multichannel coherent optical communication systems are expected to play an important role in future broadband communication networks. However, to maximize system capacity and make the most efficient use of the available optical bandwidth, the power in each channel must be maximized and the interchannel spacings reduced to a minimum. Unfortunately, nonlinear interaction between the signal channels in the transmission fiber, in particular interaction due to four-wave mixing (FWM),¹ places limitations on the maximum power per channel and how closely spaced the signal channels may be.^2-4 The possibility of using a special carrier (channel) frequency allocation scheme to avoid fiber FWM crosstalk at the carrier frequencies has been mentioned^1,3,4 but has not yet been investigated in detail.

© 1990 Optical Society of America