Dispersion-managed links with randomly variable map length

Summary form only given. Dispersion-managed systems permit to upgrade existing networks without changing the already installed cables. To this aim, dispersion compensators and optical amplifiers could be inserted at every network node. One of the limitations of using such technique is the necessity to implement identical maps all over the network; this feature does not fit to a realistic network, where the fiber spans have variable length. We show that stable transmission can be obtained in strongly dispersion-managed links having linear compensation devices (such as fiber Bragg gratings), and randomly variable length fiber spans. The dynamic behavior of a single pulse over a system of this kind, employing standard monomodal fibers (SMF), has been numerically analyzed. A general analytical expression for the input prechirp needed to obtain stable transmission is also presented.