Abstract

Decoding performance of multilevel signals recorded using optical phase modulation was investigated by computer simulations. It was found that 4-ary phase modulated signals can be satisfactorily decoded by applying PR(1,2,1)ML provided that homodyne detector output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is equivalent to current optical drives. It was also found that 8-ary phase modulated signals require SNR to be 6.1 to 7.0 dB higher. Therefore, it can be concluded that the data transfer rate can be more than doubled by using optical phase recording technology.

© 2011 Optical Society of America