Nonlinear impairment compensation using expectation maximization for dispersion managed and unmanaged PDM 16-QAM transmission

Darko Zibar (Corresponding author), Ole Winther, Niccolo Franceschi, Robert Borkowski, Antonio Caballero Jambrina, Valeria Arlunno, Mikkel Nørgaard Schmidt, Neil Guerrero Gonzalez, Bangning Mao, Yabin Ye, Knud J. Larsen, Idelfonso Tafur Monroy

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Abstract

In this paper, we show numerically and experimentally that expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is a powerful tool in combating system impairments such as fibre nonlinearities, inphase and quadrature (I/Q) modulator imperfections and laser linewidth. The EM algorithm is an iterative algorithm that can be used to compensate for the impairments which have an imprint on a signal constellation, i.e. rotation and distortion of the constellation points. The EM is especially effective for combating non-linear phase noise (NLPN). It is because NLPN severely distorts the signal constellation and this can be tracked by the EM. The gain in the nonlinear system tolerance for the system under consideration is shown to be dependent on the transmission scenario. We show experimentally that for a dispersion managed polarization multiplexed 16-QAM system at 14 Gbaud a gain in the nonlinear system tolerance of up to 3 dB can be obtained. For, a dispersion unmanaged system this gain reduces to 0.5 dB.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)B181-B196
Number of pages16
JournalOptics Express
Volume20
Issue number26
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes

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