Transmission of 8 20-Gb/s Channels over 232 km of Conventional Fiber

Abstract

Strategies for upgrading installed lightwave systems that use conventional step-index fiber have followed two paths. Wavelength multiplexing of several 2.5-Gb/s channels can allow unregenerated spans of several hundred kilometers. Alternatively, higher bit-rate single-channel systems can be considered, using shorter regenerator spacings. Recently[1] 10-Gb/s transmission over 360 km of conventional fiber was demonstrated using dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF). In this paper, we demonstrate that the strategy of dispersion compensation at a bit rate of 20 Gb/s can be combined with extensive wavelength multiplexing.