The tradeoff between bit error rate and link distance for a constant signal to noise ratio in Coherent Optical OFDM systems

Recently, fiber optical communication and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) method are combined to obtain both advantages in a communication link called CO-OFDM. In this research, bit error rate (BER)-Distance variations are investigated for a constant signal to noise ratio (SNR) in CO-OFDM systems. Results also show the performance of the CO-OFDM system at different data rates and distances for one RF carrier and one optical carrier. There are 111 channels (C and L bands) can be used (191.4 to 185.9 THz) at 50 GHz spacing according to the Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) standards. Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is the key factor to reach 1.7 Tb/s (111*16 Gb/s) using only one optical cable utilizing C and L bands. In this research, CO-OFDM technique is modeled and simulated designing a Monte Carlo simulation. To the best of our knowledge, this work shows the first BER-Distance variations in a CO-OFDM communication link.