Abstract

The limits to error-free soliton transmission, both in bit rate and distance, tend to set by the net jitter in pulse arrival times. Traditionally, jitter from amplifier spontaneous emission—the Gordon-Haus effect—is considered to be dominant. There is, however, another contribution; one arising from an acoustic interaction among the pulses. Unlike the bit-rate independent Gordon-Haus jitter, the acoustic jitter increases with bit rate, and in the context of transoceanic transmission, tends to become the dominant term for bit rates in excess of about 10 Gbit/s.^1,2

© 1996 Optical Society of America