Dispersion supported transmission technique: comparison of performance in anomalous and normal propagation regimes

Abstract

Through semi-analytical simulation, the feasibility of an application of the dispersion-supported transmission (DST) technique in the normal propagation regime is investigated, and its performance compared with that in the anomalous propagation regime. It is shown that, in the normal propagation regime, the DST technique operating at 20 Gbit/s can improve the maximum system sensitivity by about 7 dB relative to the anomalous propagation regime. However, a reduction of the maximum transmission distance and a greater dispersion dependence of system sensitivity around its maximum value are observed. The influence of laser adiabatic and transient chirps on the DST performance in both propagation regimes is investigated. It is shown that in the normal propagation regime, the presence of laser transient chirp can be beneficial, improving the system performance by opening the eye diagram at system output. Contrarily, in the anomalous propagation regime, its presence can strongly degrade the system performance, by closing the eye diagram at system output.