Abstract

In order to use numerical calculations as a tool for the design of optical communication systems, it is essential that one can accurately predict very low(<10⁻¹²) Bit Error Ratio (BER). A key element in this context is a proper treatment of the noise in the receiver, both of shot noise and thermal noise and of how the ASE from optical amplifiers is affected by the detection and filtering (electrical and optical). Today several methods are used for modeling receivers of optically amplified light, from simpler Q-value estimation assuming a Gaussian distribution of the photocurrent to more sophisticated quadratic detection.¹⁻⁴In this paper we present a semi-analytical receiver model that properly accounts for shot noise, thermal noise and the quadratic detection of ASE noise. For the first time, this is combined with arbitrary filtering in the electrical domain.

© 2002 Optical Society of America