Dispersion of microwave-modulated optical signals

Author

Hakki, Basil W.

Author_Institution

AT&T Bell Labs., Breinigsville, PA, USA

Volume

11

Issue

3

fYear

1993

fDate

3/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

474

Lastpage

480

Abstract

Experimental and analytical evaluation of dispersion effects that control intersymbol interference in gigabit, single-mode-fiber, digital systems is described. Both direct modulation of distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers and external modulation by Mach-Zehnder modulators are studied. The experiment uses sinusoidal modulation of the light at a microwave frequency, e.g. 5 GHz, and the subsequent measurement of signal gain or loss in a dispersive fiber. For DFB lasers, the transmission measurements are used to derive the transient and adiabatic components of chirp. It is shown that, for external modulation at 5 GHz, the 1.55- mu m optical signals suffer relatively little dispersion loss for transmission distances up to 60 km. Analytical solutions for waveform distortion are given for external modulation and show good agreement with measurements.

Keywords

distributed feedback lasers; electro-optical devices; optical dispersion; optical fibres; optical links; optical losses; optical modulation; 1.55 micron; 5 GHz; 60 km; Mach-Zehnder modulators; adiabatic components; chirp; digital systems; dispersion effects; distributed feedback lasers; external modulation; intersymbol interference; loss; microwave-modulated optical signals; signal gain; single-mode-fiber; sinusoidal modulation; transient components; waveform distortion; Chirp modulation; Control systems; Digital systems; Dispersion; Distortion measurement; Fiber lasers; Intersymbol interference; Masers; Optical distortion; Optical modulation;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.219582

Filename

219582