Simultaneous nonlinearity mitigation in 92 × 180-Gbit/s PDM-16QAM transmission over 3840 km using PPLN-based guard-band-less optical phase conjugation

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrated the simultaneous nonlinearity mitigation of PDM-16QAM WDM signals using complementary-spectrally-inverted optical phase conjugation (CSI-OPC). We achieved reserved-band-less, guard-band-less, and polarization independent OPC based on periodically poled LiNbO₃ waveguides. By employing the CSI-OPC, 2.325-THz-band (93 × 25 GHz) complementary spectral inversion was achieved while retaining the original WDM bandwidth. A Q²-factor improvement of over 0.4 dB and a 5120 km transmission with a Q²-factor above the FEC limit were confirmed using a 10-channel WDM transmission at the signal band center and signal band edge. We then demonstrated the mitigation of the nonlinear impairments in a 3840 km long-haul WDM signal transmission for all 92-channel 180-Gbit/s PDM-16QAM quasi-Nyquist-WDM signals.