1.55-μm fiber-optic transmission experiments for long-span submarine cable system design

Results of 1.55-μm transmission experiments at 140, 280, and 565 Mb/s involving conventional and dispersion-shifted single-mode fibers along the Fabry-Perot laser diode (FP-LD) and distributed-feedback laser diode (DFB-LD) optical sources are discussed. The results show which combination of optical fiber and optical source best meet the requirement of long repeater spacing for each bit rate. The results indicate that to achieve repeater spacing more than 100 km with dispersion-shifted fibers and FP-LD optical sources will impose strict requirements on both the optical fibers and the optical sources even at 280 Mb/s. Alternatively, systems using DFB-LD optical sources will not degrade the transmission performances and will considerably loosen requirements on the fibers and optical sources. A combination of dispersion-shifted fibers and DFB-LD optical sources can further loosen the requirements on the fibers and optical sources in 560-Mb/s systems