On the bit error rate of lightwave systems with optical amplifiers

The problem of evaluating the performances of communication systems with optical amplifiers and a wideband optical filter is addressed. Exact probability of error expressions for optical signals in presence of amplifier spontaneous noise and photodetector shot noise are given and compared with those predicted by Gaussian approximations for amplitude shift keying (ASK), frequency shift keying (FSK), or differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulations, both for ideal photodetectors and for the case where shot noise is significant.