16-QAM optical packet switching and real-time self-homodyne detection using polarization-multiplexed pilot-carrier

Satoshi Shinada; Moriya Nakamura; Yukiyoshi Kamio; Naoya Wada

doi:10.1364/OE.20.00B535

16-QAM optical packet switching and real-time self-homodyne detection using polarization-multiplexed pilot-carrier

Opt Express. 2012 Dec 10;20(26):B535-42. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.00B535.

Authors

Satoshi Shinada¹, Moriya Nakamura, Yukiyoshi Kamio, Naoya Wada

Affiliation

¹ National Institute of Information and Communications Technology 4-2-1 Nukui-kitamachi, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8795, Japan. sshinada@nict.go.jp

PMID: 23262899
DOI: 10.1364/OE.20.00B535

Abstract

We demonstrated 20-Gbit/s 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (16-QAM) optical packet switching and real-time detection using self-homodyne. A prototype modulator consisting of an in-phase and quadrature (I-Q) modulator and monolithically integrated polarization beam splitters generated modulated signals and polarization-multiplexed pilot-carriers simultaneously. Self-homodyne detection using the pilot-carrier was resilient to phase noise and self-phase modulation, and the constellation was obtained in real time without digital signal processing. A low-polarization-dependent (Pb,La)(Zr,La)O(3) (PLZT) optical switch in the optical packet switch handled both 16-QAM optical packets and the polarization multiplexed pilot-carrier. Even after packet switching, a clear constellation diagram was obtained, and error-free operation was confirmed in real-time using a packet bit-error rate tester (BERT).