Performance analysis of single-MZM APRZ transmitters

In this paper, an efficient single Mach-Zender modulator (MZM) implementation of alternate-phase return to zero (APRZ), which combines carrier-suppressed return to zero (CSRZ)´s ease of implementation with APRZ´s nonlinear tolerance, is analyzed. In particular, the first numerical study of 67%-duty-cycle single-MZM APRZ over a 40-Gb/s 5 × 100-km link, in terms of nonlinear, dispersion, and filtering tolerance, comparing it with 33% RZ, 33% APRZ, and standard 67% CSRZ, is presented. The results show that APRZ with phase shift close to π/2 is the optimum choice, independent of specific transmitter implementation. A new mechanism is also discovered, based on the interference of ghost pulses with the original pulse train, which improves the nonlinear tolerance of CSRZ in a 40-Gb/s transmission.