Theoretical and experimental results on transmission penalty due to fiber parametric gain in normal dispersion

Summary form only given. Fiber parametric gain (PG) is caused by the Kerr effect and results in substantial enhancement of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise when a pump signal (typically the information signal) is present. In this paper, theoretical prediction, experimental evidence and simulation results indicate that PG occurs in normal dispersion as well as anomalous dispersion, causing substantial system penalty in long-haul links. We also carried out an extensive theoretical and simulation study of other long-haul system configurations showing that in several cases PG may be the strongest limiting factor of system performance, both in normal and anomalous dispersion.