Electronic dispersion compensation by signal predistortion using digital Processing and a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder Modulator

We propose and investigate a novel electronic dispersion compensation technique, in which signal precompensation is achieved using a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator, driven by adaptive nonlinear digital filters. The results demonstrate effective compensation of over 13600 ps/nm, equivalent to 800 km of standard single-mode fiber, at 10 Gb/s.

I. Introduction

The USE of electronic signal processing for the compensation of transmission impairments such as fiber dispersion removes the need for expensive and bulky optical components and offers adaptive compensation which will be required in future dynamic optical networks. In particular, digital techniques offer significant advantages in terms of the functionality and reproducibility of electronic dispersion compensation (EDC). Fig. 1. Proposed precompensating transmitter. Predicted future increases in speed and reduction in power consumption of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-based digital signal processors, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters [1], [2] will make the use of digital EDC increasingly feasible.