Abstract

Intensity fluctuations of an optical wave modulate the phases of other optical waves copropagating in the same fiber through the cross-phase modulation (XPM). This effect can be detrimental to phase-sensitive multichannel lightwave systems.^1-3 Our previous study⁴ showed that the XPM index is inversely proportional to the product of wavelength separation Δλ, fiber dispersion D, and modulation frequency. In this paper, we present what we believe to be the first comprehensive theoretical analysis to estimate the impact of XPM on multichannel CPFSK optical communication systems. We also experimentally investigate the sensitivity penalty due to XPM in CPFSK systems and compare the results with theoretical estimates.

© 1995 Optical Society of America