Abstract
In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel tunable
optical dispersion compensator (TODC). Dispersion compensation is achieved
by splitting the input signal between two dispersive media and adding the
resulting signals thereafter. Tunable compensation is attained by
controlling the power splitting ratio of the input signal between both
dispersive media. The frequency response of the TODC is theoretically
assessed considering signal addition in the optical and electrical domains.
The latter case is enabled by using optical single sideband (OSSB)
modulation, which allows preserving the phase information of dispersive
media output signals after direct detection. This is the only case
experimentally tested, since it avoids stability problems related with
coherent addition of optical signals. A TODC with a tuning range of ${-}340$ to 0 ps/nm was designed and experimentally assessed for a 40 Gb/s
nonreturn-to-zero OSSB signal. The tunable power splitter consisted of an
automatic polarization controller and a polarization beam splitter, which
offered a tuning time lower than 150 $\mu$s. A bit error rate lower than $10^{-8}$ was measured on the entire compensation range with a maximum
power penalty of 3.3 dB relatively to an SSB signal in back-to-back.
© 2010 IEEE
PDF Article
More Like This
Cited By
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription