Abstract

There appear to be two distinct approaches to the design of future ultra long-span optically-amplified transmission systems. In the first, the signal wavelength is chosen to give operation in the region of anomalous dispersion. This is consistent with soliton operation, although other pulse shapes may propagate with little degradation. This paper is concerned with the second approach, where the operating wavelength is chosen to lie very close to the dispersion minimum. Self-phase modulation is now a source of potential impairment, and must be controlled.

© 1991 Optical Society of America