Mitigation of intra-channel nonlinearities using a frequency-domain Volterra series equalizer

Opt Express. 2012 Jan 16;20(2):1360-9. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.001360.

Abstract

We address the issue of intra-channel nonlinear compensation using a Volterra series nonlinear equalizer based on an analytical closed-form solution for the 3rd order Volterra kernel in frequency-domain. The performance of the method is investigated through numerical simulations for a single-channel optical system using a 20 Gbaud NRZ-QPSK test signal propagated over 1600 km of both standard single-mode fiber and non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. We carry on performance and computational effort comparisons with the well-known backward propagation split-step Fourier (BP-SSF) method. The alias-free frequency-domain implementation of the Volterra series nonlinear equalizer makes it an attractive approach to work at low sampling rates, enabling to surpass the maximum performance of BP-SSF at 2× oversampling. Linear and nonlinear equalization can be treated independently, providing more flexibility to the equalization subsystem. The parallel structure of the algorithm is also a key advantage in terms of real-time implementation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Equipment Design
  • Fiber Optic Technology / instrumentation*
  • Fiber Optic Technology / methods*
  • Linear Models
  • Nonlinear Dynamics*
  • Optical Fibers*