Abstract

Lightwave subcarrier modulation techniques are now used in various microwave transmission applications and are becoming widespread throughout the cable television (CATV) industry.¹ Advances in device performance have improved systems capabilities to the point where the fiber becomes a significant limitation. Fiber dispersion interacts with the modulated optical spectrum to produce nonlinear distortion.¹³ Given the high output powers that might become available when using optical amplifiers and the strict performance requirements for AM-VSB systems, the fiber nonlinearity is also a potential problem. We derive expressions for second- and third-order distortion generated by transmission of directly or externally modulated single-frequency lasers through dispersive and nonlinear fiber.

© 1991 Optical Society of America