Vladimir Gordienko

4 Tb/s Transmission Reach Enhancement Using 10 × 400 Gb/s Super-Channels and Polarization Insensitive Dual Band Optical Phase Conjugation

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the benefit of polarization insensitive dual-band optical phase conjugation for up to ten 400 Gb/s optical super-channels using a Raman amplified transmission link with a realistic span length of 75 km. We demonstrate that the resultant increase in transmission distance may be predicted analytically if the detrimental impacts of power asymmetry and polarization mode dispersion are taken into account.

Ultra-flat wideband single-pump Raman-enhanced parametric amplification

We experimentally optimize a single pump fiber optical parametric amplifier in terms of gain spectral bandwidth and gain variation (GV). We find that optimal performance is achieved with the pump tuned to the zero-dispersion wavelength of dispersion stable highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF). We demonstrate further improvement of parametric gain bandwidth and GV by decreasing the HNLF length. We discover that Raman and parametric gain spectra produced by the same pump may be merged together to enhance overall gain bandwidth, while keeping GV low. Consequently, we report an ultra-flat gain of 9.6 ± 0.5 dB over a range of 111 nm (12.8 THz) on one side of the pump. Additionally, we demonstrate amplification of a 60 Gbit/s QPSK signal tuned over a portion of the available bandwidth with OSNR penalty less than 1 dB for Q2 below 14 dB.

Enhanced superchannel transmission using phase conjugation

We demonstrate polarisation insensitive dual-band optical phase conjugation for multiple 400Gbit/s optical superchannels using a Raman amplified transmission link with a realistic span length of 75km. The resultant increase in transmission distance is confirmed analytically.

20 dB net-gain polarization-insensitive fiber optical parametric amplifier with >2 THz bandwidth

A black-box polarization insensitive fiber optical parametric amplifier (PI-FOPA) is characterized for the first time using a commercial 127 Gb/s polarization-division multiplexed PDM-QPSK transponder within a multiplex of twenty-two equivalent DWDM signals across a 2.3 THz bandwidth portion of the C-band. The PI-FOPA employs a recently demonstrated diversity loop arrangement comprising two lengths of highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) with the parametric pump being removed after the first HNLF in both directions about the loop. This arrangement is named the Half-Pass Loop FOPA or HPL-FOPA. In total, a record equivalent 2.3 Tb/s of data is amplified within the HPL-FOPA for three different pump power regimes producing net-gains of 10 dB, 15 dB and 20 dB (averaged over all signals). For the latter two regimes, the gain bandwidth is observed to extend considerably beyond the C-band, illustrating the potential for this design to amplify signals over bandwidths commensurate with the EDFA and beyond. Under the 15 dB gain condition, the average OSNR penalty to achieve 10-3 bit error rate for all twenty three signals was found to be 0.5 ± 0.3 dB. Worst case penalty was 0.8 ± 0.3 dB, verifying the use of the architecture for polarization insensitive operation. The growth of four-wave mixing signal-signal crosstalk is additionally characterized and found to be gain independent for a fixed output power per signal. A simple effective length model is developed which predicts this behavior and suggests a new configuration for significantly reduced crosstalk.

Broadband gain-spectrum measurement for fiber optical parametric and Raman amplifiers

We examine the use of a depolarized broadband probe to experimentally measure the gain spectra of amplifiers comprising parametric and Raman gain. The suggested technique allows a quick and accurate characterization of gain spectra spanning more than 100 nm. We derive formulas for processing spectral data to address polarization dependent gain and idler generation, and consequently develop a measurement methodology for obtaining reliable results. We demonstrate the viability of this approach by performing an experimental comparison with results obtained using tunable lasers. We expect the technique described here to be useful for fiber optical parametric amplifier development and characterization.

Towards wide-bandwidth ultra-flat FOPAs

Fibre optical parametric amplifiers (FOPAs) offer the potential for high gain and >100 nm bandwidth at arbitrary wavelengths for increased transmission capacity. We will cover the main principles of the FOPA and discuss our approach to obtaining broad flat gain and performance improvement via simultaneous Raman amplification.