In-service monitor for chromatic dispersion using microwave technology in a 40-Gbit/s optical fiber communication system

摘要

A feasible and cost-effective online chromatic dispersion (CD) monitoring scheme for high speed optical communication system is demonstrated in this paper. Based on the formerly verified theoretical model, the output electrical power of a specific frequency band is tested to reflect the residual chromatic dispersion online. Thus the microwave devices are selected to form the electrical power detecting circuit, which consists of a PIN photodiode, a microwave power filter and a power detector in tandem. In the experiments, frequency band center were chosen at 5 GHz for the 10 Gbit/s system and 12 GHz for the 40 Gbit/s system. Then the output voltage of the detector was processed and converted to digital signal and the signal was processed to obtain the amount of the chromatic dispersion of the tested systems. For the 40 Gbit/s system, the maximum detectable chromatic dispersion was around 130-ps/nm and a resolution of 5-ps/nm/db was achieved at the chosen frequency band centered at 12 GHz. Performance of the microwave devices and comparison of the experimental results at different frequency bands are also discussed, which verified that the chosen center frequency was suitable for detection of CD in optical communication system beyong 10 Gbit/s speed.