Performance limit of long-distance WDM dispersion-managed transmission system using higher order dispersion compensation fibers

In conventional long-distance wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) dispersion-managed transmission systems, since both the dispersion-shifted fiber (DSF) and the standard single-mode fiber (SMF) have positive dispersion slope, perfect dispersion compensation can be achieved only for a single wavelength channel. The transmission window of such systems is severely limited by the interplay between the self-phase modulation and the residual dispersion. In contrast, WDM dispersion managed systems comprised of a SMF followed by a higher order dispersion compensation fiber (DCF) with opposite second- and third-order dispersions can clear out this drawback. We investigate the performance limit of 1D-, 2D-, and 40-Gb/s WDM systems employing the higher order DCF by extensive computer simulations.