Wavelength-band generation and transmission of 324-Tbit/s (81-channel WDM×40-Gbit/s) carrier-suppressed return-to-zero format by use of a single supercontinuum source for frequency standardization

Abstract

A wavelength band of 40-Gbit/s–based 81-channel dense-wavelength–division multiplexing of a carrier-suppressed (CS) return-to-zero (RZ), i.e., CS-RZ format is simultaneously generated by use of a single supercontinuum (SC) source pumped by an optically multiplexed 40-Gbit/s CS-RZ signal. Because the SC is generated while coherent characteristics are maintained, CS multiplexing in each wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) channel is multiplied. Furthermore, because a single mode-locked laser-diode (MLLD) pulse is an originated signal source, the WDM channel spacing is strongly locked by the microwave mode-locking frequency. As a result, the proposed technique would be favorably applicable to cost-effective multichannel frequency standardization when the center wavelength of the MLLD is locked to an ITU grid. Transmission of 3.24-Tbit/s (81-channel×40-Gbit/s) DWDM in the CS-RZ format with a 66-nm continuous signal band in the C and the L wavelengths is experimentally demonstrated by use of tellurite-based erubium-doped fiber amplifiers.