Detailed theoretical investigation on relative intensity noise reduction enhancement based on reflective SOAs

The enhanced performance for relative intensity noise (RIN) reduction based on reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers (R-SOA) has been investigated theoretically by comparison with conventional transmission SOA. The results show that, by selecting appropriate input optical power, as large as >20 dB RIN suppression improvement can be achieved for R-SOA, without sacrificing the noise rejection bandwidth. With increased injection current, the optimized input signal power is decreased and the operation region is extended for the best RIN reduction. For RIN suppression in WDM spectrum slicing, the bandwidth optimization of receiver filter should be performed to avoid the spectral broadening induced by self-phase modulation (SPM) and four wave mixing (FWM). Our derived result is helpful for designing and optimizing the R-SOA in application of noise suppression enhancement.     

Performance analysis for an all-optical wavelength converter using four-wave mixing (FWM) in a single mode fiber

An analytical approach is presented to determine the performance of a tunable wavelength converter based on four wave mixing (FWM) in a single mode fiber (SMF) with two pump lasers. The analysis is carried out for an intensity modulated (IM) signal taking into considerations the effects of spectral broadening due to FWM and laser phase noise. The results evaluated at a bit rate of 10 Gb/s show that the signal power is substantially higher at lower values of wavelength separation. For example, for input powers of 10 mW each, wavelength separation of 4 nm between the pump-2 and the input signal, the output converted power is found to be –10 dBm corresponding to wavelength separation of 2 nm between pump-1 and converter signal. The corresponding crosstalk power is found to be –25 dBm at a channel separation of 3 times bit rate.     

Suppression of pump-to-Stokes relative intensity noise transfer in Raman fiber laser by injection of modulated signal

A feasible approach is theoretically demonstrated that suppresses the relative intensity noise (RIN) transfer from pump sources to the proposed Raman fiber laser (RFL) output at the first-order Stokes line. The technique is accomplished by injecting a modulated signal at second-order Stokes shift from the pump wavelength according to the monitored RFL output, which indirectly consumes the pump power fluctuations and results in suppression of the RIN transfer to the RFL output. With the RFL used as a pump source for co-pumped Raman fiber amplifiers, further calculation results show that the Q-factor penalty due to RIN transfer can be dramatically reduced.     

Instability control in microwave-frequency microplasma

This paper introduces comprehensive large-signal analyses of modulation dynamics and noise of a chaotic semiconductor laser. The chaos is induced by operating the laser under optical feedback (OFB). Control of the chaotic dynamics and possibility of suppressing the associated noise by sinusoidal modulation are investigated. The studies are based on numerical solutions of a time-delay rate equation model. The deterministic modulation dynamics of the laser are classified into seven regular and irregular dynamic types. Variations of chaotic dynamics and noise with sinusoidal modulation are examined in both time and frequency domains over wide ranges of the modulation depth and frequency. The results showed that chaotic dynamics can be converted into five distinct dynamic types; namely, continuous periodic signal (CPS), continuous periodic signal with relaxation oscillations (CPSRO), periodic pulse (PP), periodic pulse with relaxation oscillations (PPRO) and periodic pulse with period doubling (PPPD). The relative intensity noise (RIN) of these types is characterized when the modulation frequencies are much lower, comparable to, and higher than the resonance frequency. Suppression of RIN to a level 8 dB/Hz higher than the quantum limit was predicted under the CPS type when the modulation frequency is 0.9 times the resonance frequency and the modulation depth is 0.14.     

Simultaneous four channel wavelength conversion of 50Gbps CSRZ–DPSK signals in S and C bands using HNLF without additional pump signals

Optical wavelength conversion is expected to be an important technique for future advanced dense wavelength division multiplexing systems. It enhances wavelength routing capabilities, improves network reconfigurability and eliminating the problem associated with wavelength reuse in network. Here, simultaneous 50Gbps four channel wavelength conversion is established in S and C bands of ITU grid using four wave mixing (FWM) technique in high nonlinear fiber (HNLF) without additional pump signals. Since the four channel wavelength conversion is to be performed, the frequency spacing between the pairs of signal in S and C bands should be maintained in order to avoid the signal degradation by the effect of higher order FWM. Thereby the best frequency spacing between the pairs of signals in S and C bands is estimated to maintain good BER over the wavelength converted signals of both bands. So the selected frequency spacing between the pairs fulfills the freedom of selecting any frequency spacing within a pair of wavelengths in S and C band signals. It is also shown that CSRZ–DPSK modulated input signal enhances the BER of wavelength converted signals over the RZ–DPSK. In addition to this, uniform wavelength conversion over a wide bandwidth with a reduced length of HNLF is achieved and also the best power range is estimated to obtain good conversion efficiency.     

Further Theoretical Investigations for Laser Relative Intensity Noise with Fiber Nonlinearities and Higher-Order Dispersion

In this article, we theoretically investigate relative intensity noise (RIN) in optical communication systems with fiber nonlinearities due to optical Kerr effects and higher-order dispersion. The impact of modulation frequencies, launch power, and laser bias current on RIN has been illustrated. We show that RIN increases with modulating frequencies up to the resonance frequency, launch power, and decrease in the laser bias current. We also show that higher-order dispersion terms have no impact on the RIN, but with first-order dispersion compensation the higher-order dispersion terms have significant impact at high modulating frequencies. The RIN with and without fiber nonlinearities is further investigated. It has been shown that the RIN with fiber nonlinearity is more than the RIN without nonlinearity and the effect of nonlinearity appears at higher modulation frequencies only.     

Further Theoretical Investigations for Laser Relative Intensity Noise with Fiber Nonlinearities and Higher Order Dispersion

In this article, we theoretically investigate relative intensity noise (RIN) in optical communication systems with fiber nonlinearities due to optical Kerr effects and higher order dispersion. The impact of modulation frequencies, launch power, and laser bias current on RIN has been illustrated. We show that RIN increases with modulating frequencies up to the resonance frequency and launch power, and decreases in the laser bias current. We also show that higher order dispersion terms have no impact on the RIN, but with first order dispersion compensation the higher order dispersion terms have significant impact at high modulating frequencies. The RIN with and without fiber nonlinearities is further investigated. It has been shown that the RIN with fiber nonlinearity is more than the RIN without nonlinearity and the effect of nonlinearity appears at higher modulation frequencies only.     

Further Theoretical Investigations for Laser Relative Intensity Noise with Fiber Nonlinearities and Higher Order Dispersion

In this article, we theoretically investigate relative intensity noise (RIN) in optical communication systems with fiber nonlinearities due to optical Kerr effects and higher order dispersion. The impact of modulation frequencies, launch power, and laser bias current on RIN has been illustrated. We show that RIN increases with modulating frequencies up to the resonance frequency and launch power, and decreases in the laser bias current. We also show that higher order dispersion terms have no impact on the RIN, but with first order dispersion compensation the higher order dispersion terms have significant impact at high modulating frequencies. The RIN with and without fiber nonlinearities is further investigated. It has been shown that the RIN with fiber nonlinearity is more than the RIN without nonlinearity and the effect of nonlinearity appears at higher modulation frequencies only.     

Forward and backward intensity noises induced by stimulated Brillouin scattering in optical fiber

The characteristic of intensity noise is degraded when stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) occurs in the fiber transmission systems. We use the localized fluctuating model to study SBS and obtain the curves of intensity fluctuations versus the single-pass gain. Corresponding experiments are also conducted. For the forward light, the relative intensity noise (RIN) dramatically increases at first and gradually stabilizes when the input power is above the SBS threshold. For the backward light, the RIN increases dramatically with the input power near the threshold. As the input power continues to increase, the RIN decreases quickly at first and subsequently decreases slowly. This observation is attributed to the lower frequencies.     

Reduction of FWM noise in WDM-based QKD systems using interleaved and unequally spaced channels

To extensively deploy quantum key distribution(QKD) systems, copropagating with classical channels on the same fiber using wavelength division multiplexing(WDM) technology becomes a critical issue. We propose a user-based channel-interleaving WDM scheme with unequal frequency spacing(UFS-i WDM) to reduce the impairment on the quantum channels induced by four-wave mixing(FWM), and theoretically analyze its impact on quantum bit error rate(QBER). Numerical simulation results show that a UFS-i WDM can significantly reduce the FWM noise and improve QBER compared with the corresponding WDM scheme with equal frequency spacing(EFS), especially in the case of nonzero dispersion shifted fiber.     

Simulation-based comparison of noise effects in wavelength modulation spectroscopy and direct absorption TDLAS

A simulative investigation of noise effects in wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) and direct absorption diode laser absorption spectroscopy is presented. Special attention is paid to the impact of quantization noise of the analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) of the photodetector signal in the two detection schemes with the goal of estimating the necessary ADC resolution for each technique. With laser relative intensity noise (RIN), photodetector shot noise and thermal amplifier noise included, the strategies used for noise reduction in direct and wavelength modulation spectroscopy are compared by simulating two respective systems. Results show that because of the combined effects of dithering by RIN and signal averaging, the resolutions required for the direct absorption setup are only slightly higher than for the WMS setup. Only for small contributions of RIN an increase in resolution will significantly improve signal quality in the direct scheme.     

Multi-wavelength bismuth-based erbium-doped fiber laser based on four-wave mixing effect in photonic crystal fiber

A stable multi-wavelength erbium-doped fiber laser based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is demonstrated in this paper. The phase matching condition for four-wave mixing in the photonic crystal fiber has been enhanced using a seed signal and a polarisation controller to control the states of polarisation in the ring laser cavity. At a maximum pump power of 1480 nm, 5 lines are observed with nearly 2.15 nm spacing between the lines, and with a signal to noise ratio of more than 20 dB. The number of channels and wavelength spacing can be controlled by varying the output coupler ratio.     

Noise conversion from pump to the passively mode-locked fiber lasers at 1.5 μm

We characterize the noise conversion from the pump relative intensity noise (RIN) to the RIN and phase noise of passively mode-locked lasers at 1.5 μm. Two mode locking mechanisms, nonlinear polarization rotation (NPR) and semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), are compared for noise conversion for the first time. It is found that the RIN and the phase noise of both types of lasers are dominated by the noise converted from the pump RIN and thus, can be predicted with the measured pump RIN and noise conversion ratios. The SESAM laser is found to show an excess noise conversion from the laser RIN to the laser phase noise due to the slow saturable absorber effect.     

Performance comparison of wavelength shift keying WDM system and conventional on-off WDM system in presence of four-wave mixing

Performance of wavelength shift keying (WSK) wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) system is analyzed and compared to that of conventional on-off keying (OOK) WDM system in respect of four-wave mixing (FWM) effect. WSK technique employs symmetric wavelength assignment and balanced detection to cancel FWM interference to first order. WSK–WDM outperforms conventional OOK–WDM at all signal levels and permits higher allowable input power, lower power penalty and higher transmission distance for a given bit-error rate of 10⁻⁹. WSK–WDM is also found to be noise resistant.     

Stimulated Brillouin scattering limited intensity-dependent four-wave mixing between pump and signal in a non-zero dispersion shifted fiber

The intensity-dependent four-wave mixing (FWM) efficiency is derived by the nonlinear Schrodinger equations including the self phase modulation and cross phase modulation between the two Fabry–Perot modes of a pump and a single-wavelength signal. The maximum FWM for mixing the pump with signal in non-zero dispersion shifted fiber is explained as the minimum phase mismatch for FWM due to equal group delay for the pump and signal. It was also found that the experimental measurements for the generated FWM power are limited by the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold. Under the SBS threshold, the experimental results are still coincided well with the theoretical calculations of the FWM generated power ratio to have the difference of 0.12 dB for the input signal power of 12 mW.     

Optically Injection‐Locked Mid‐IR Quantum‐Cascade Lasers: The Output‐Power–Modulation‐Bandwidth–Noise Trilogy

A comprehensive study on the output power, the modulation response, and the relative intensity noise (RIN) behavior of an optically injection‐locked mid‐infrared quantum‐cascade laser reveals that the modulation bandwidth and the output power are enhanced in the stable locking range, while the RIN of the slave laser is a superposition of the master and slave noise sources. Since the RIN level of the master laser can even take the lead, a design procedure is introduced to improve the main characteristics of a free‐running laser, including the RIN, the photon lifetime, the modulation bandwidth, and the bias current, using facet reflectivity tailoring. A figure of merit is defined and the RIN reduction of about 20 dB Hz^?1 is obtained for very low injection powers compared with the injection‐locked system before the design of master laser.     

A bandwidth-efficient channel allocation scheme for mitigating FWM in ultra-dense WDM-PON

In this paper, we investigate four-wave mixing (FWM) effects in the ultra-dense wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (UDWDM-PON) system and propose an efficient channel allocation scheme to mitigate the FWM impact. This scheme is formed by grouping signal channels into several blocks with different channel spacing. Through numerical analysis and simulations, our proposed scheme is verified to be able to reduce the FWM effects and have higher bandwidth efficiency than the traditional unequal channel allocation scheme. The simulation results also demonstrate that our proposed scheme can achieve nearly 4 dB increases in optical power budget of the UDWDM-PON systems at the BER of 1e−3, in comparison with the equal spaced channel scheme.     

Extended Method of Fast Allocation of USC’s for Millimeter-Wave DWDM-ROF Transmission Over ZDSF

Four-wave mixing (FWM) may happen efficiently and introduce crosstalk at the signal channels in dense-wavelength-division- multiplexing (DWDM) systems employing zero-dispersion-shifted fiber (ZDSF). This paper presents extended method of fast allocation of unequally spaced channels (USCs) to minimize FWM crosstalk in millimeter-wave (MMW) DWDM radio-over-fiber (ROF) systems. When all of the MMW sub-carriers are at same frequency, by spacing the channels unequally using the extended method, all FWM products except the ones bound to be generated at the signal frequencies, can be excluded from the signal channels. While when the MMW sub-carriers are allowed to be different in frequencies, all of the FWM products can be excluded from the signal channels by spacing the channels unequally. Transmission of 622 Mbit/s BPSK data over 40 kilometers ZDSF, with and without wavelength interleaving, are simulated, for both schemes with equally and unequally spaced channels. Results comparison shows that the link performances can be clearly improved, when the channels are unequally spaced using the extended method.     

Investigation and suppression of the pump-to-Stokes relative intensity noise transfer in chalcogenide waveguide Raman laser

The characteristic of pump-to-Stokes relative intensity noise (RIN) transfer is comprehensively investigated for integrated As?Se? waveguide Raman laser (As?Se?-WRL). It is found that, compared to its silicon counterpart, the RIN transfer is 5 dB lower across all frequencies for As?Se?-WRL, mainly due to its relatively smaller Raman gain coefficient. A bidirectional pumping scheme is proposed and verified as an effective configuration to suppress RIN transfer because doubling of the inverse round trip time eliminates the RIN transfer peak at the odd multiples of the resonance frequency. The optimization of waveguide length on RIN transfer is also performed, in which two distinct regions are identified due to different dominant physical processes. In addition, we show that RIN transfer in As?Se?-WRL can be further reduced by using a high cavity for both pump and Stokes waves.     

Numerical simulation of four-wave mixing efficiency and its induced relative intensity noise

Four-wave mixing,as well as its induced intensity noise,is harmful to wavelength division multiplexing systems.The efficiency and the relative intensity noise of four-wave mixing are numerically simulated for the two-wave and the three-wave fiber transmissions.It is found that the efficiency decreases with the increase of both the frequency spacing and the fiber length,which can be explained using the quasi-phase-matching condition.Furthermore,the relative intensity noise decreases with the increase of frequency spacing,while it increases with the increase of fiber length,which is due to the considerable power loss of the pump light.This investigation presents a good reference for the practical application of wavelength division multiplexing systems.