Numerical study on nonlinear pulse transmission in a fiber link with periodical dispersion slope compensation

In fiber links with a bit rate greater than 100 Gb/s per wavelength channel, the third-order dispersion (TOD), known as the dispersion slope, becomes a major factor that limits transmission capabilities. This paper presents a numerical study on the propagation of picosecond pulses in anomalous dispersion fibers, the dispersion slope of which is periodically compensated for by lumped compensators. In particular, pulse propagation is discussed in comparison with path-averaged solitons in a dispersion-flattened fiber. Simulations of single-pulse transmission reveal that pulses in the slope-compensated link can be easily dispersed. The dispersive component can be effectively eliminated by introducing inline bandpass filters, the bandwidth of which is smaller than that suitable for solitons in a dispersion-flattened fiber. The transmission of a pulse pair is also considered and is predicted to be stabilized for transmission power larger than that which is optimum for solitons in a dispersion-flattened fiber. These predictions are confirmed by demonstrating system analyses using a pseudorandom bit stream, showing that the penalty of the slope compensation is due to an increase in timing jitter.