Asymptotic behavior of in-band crosstalk noise in WDM networks

In-band crosstalk noise can pose important limitations in an optical network. To calculate the bit error rate (BER), the crosstalk-crosstalk beating noise is usually ignored in the literature. In this letter, it is shown how the crosstalk-crosstalk noise can be taken into account in the analysis of an optical receiver in the case of many independent interferers. It is shown that the crosstalk-crosstalk noise can influence the value of the BER, change the optimum receiver threshold, and introduce some power penalty.