Nonlinear distortions and compensations of DFB laser diode in AM-VSB lightwave CATV applications

Abstract

The nonlinear distortions of a directly modulated laser diode applied to AM-VSB lightwave CATV systems are studied from the viewpoint of rate equations. A simple method for calculating composite second-order distortion (CSO) is proposed, which is called the quasidynamic approach. The contribution to nonlinearity from fiber dispersion and laser chirping is also discussed. The dependences on the variations of parameters of rate equations are investigated to determine the dominant factor for CSO degradation. This approach explains quite well the experimental results and suggests a method for constructing a predistortion circuit with at least 10 dB improvement.