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Cancellation of Nonlinear Impairments in Fiber Optic

Transmission Systems
Nikola Alic
Qualcomm Institute, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Author e-mail address: [email protected]

Abstract: We discuss recent progress in mitigation of nonlinear impairment in transmission. We

emphasize importance of frequency reference in transmission systems, which has for the first time
allowed for true cancellation of deterministic nonlinear interaction in propagation, thus opening
the path towards transmission systems with previously inconceivable reach and capacities.
OCIS codes: (060.2330) Fiber optics communications; (060.4370) Nonlinear optics, fibers.

1. Introduction
Less than a decade ago, the bandwidth of the standard single mode fiber (SMF) seemed infinite. However, the
relentless growth of the information traffic in fiber optic systems has finally overwhelmed the available capacity [1]
of the transmission systems implemented as the wavelength division multiplex (WDM). The recognition of the
impact of nonlinear effects in fiber optic transmission has had a history as long as the field itself. Indeed, the
nonlinear impairment has become the center of attention of the fiber optics community since the early nineties [2],
leading to the all-optical, or analog methods such as nonlinearity-mitigating dispersion compensating maps [3], or
phase conjugation [4]. The main contribution of the new millennium consisted of more formal attempts to calculate
the allowable capacity [5] in these systems. Additionally, coinciding with the proliferation of coherent transmission
systems, digital signal processing (DSP) means to mitigation of the nonlinear crosstalk have also been attempted,
whereas the digital back-propagation (DBP) represents, the most pursued such method [6]. However, in practical
realizations, the DBP has fallen short of yielding the mitigation to the levels predicted by theory and simulations,
whilst the reason for this discrepancy has remained elusive, until recently. In this contribution we present definite
experimental results on successful cancellation of the nonlinear interaction, which enables circumventing the long
standing nonlinear limit in transmission.
2. Solution: Frequency Referenced Transmission Systems
From a purely theoretical perspective, the problem of successful compensation of nonlinear effects is entirely
tractable. Indeed, after three decades of intense research, signal propagation in optical fibers has been considered as
fully understood. More precisely, the underlying signal-signal interaction in propagation is fully deterministic and
is, at least according to the underlying nonlinear Schrödinger (in single) polarization [7], or Manakov equation(s) (in
two polarizations) [8] are numerically invertible [9]. Nevertheless, for many years, all attempts at equalizing the
nonlinear impairment by the DBP were, relatively speaking – of modest outcome and fell short of successful and
convincing mitigation of the nonlinear crosstalk.
The real reason for the previous failures of the DBP in practice has been determined only recently and has been
related to the carriers’ frequency uncertainty and their wander in time [10, 11]. Namely, as was for the first time
pointed out in [10], in propagation the independent wander of the carriers’ frequencies is transformed to uncertainty
of the mutual walk-off rates of the interacting WDM channels. Accordingly, this lack of accurate knowledge of the
walk-off velocities of the interacting channels is directly transformed to one’s inability to properly invert the
underlying nonlinear interaction in propagation. The newly gained understanding of the underlying physical effect
hindering the successful equalization of the nonlinear interaction implies a readily available solution: in order to
ensure a fully deterministic mutual walk-off of the interacting channels in the physical link, corresponding to those
in the back-propagation model, it is critical to introduce a frequency reference into the system design. In other
words, in contrast to the status quo, it is necessary to part with WDM systems implementation based on free-running
lasers either as the (information) carriers in the WDM systems, and/or local oscillators in the coherent receivers.
The additional requirement that needs to be imposed on the system implementation to the above frequency –
referenced carriers (FRC’s), is that of relying on collaborative / joint processing of multiple channels in order to
arrive at a successful cancellation of the nonlinear cross-talk. It ought to be pointed out that the above requirement
for collaborative processing holds true for any multi-channel communication system affected by inter-channel
interference [12, 13] in order to appropriately address the nuisances of the crosstalk. A general schematic of
nonlinearity (pre-)compensation (NLC) based on FRC’s is shown in Fig. 1.

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Fig. 1 High level concept of nonlinear crosstalk cancellation with frequency referenced carriers. The information-bearing waveforms
imprinted onto the WDM channels are pre-computed in a Pre-distortion profile calculator, taking into account the information to be
transmitted on all channels simultaneously, as well as the physical system characteristics. The pre-distortion calculation is performed for
a link having the inverse signed physical characteristics, as well as the mirror image of the propagation power profile of the physical link.

3. Experimental Demonstrations
The ability to successfully mitigate nonlinear effects is not only the enabler for a superior performance, it also
allows transmission at elevated signal launch powers, which were traditionally prohibited due to the associated
exacerbation of the nonlinear impairment. Thereby, the higher launch power per channel, directly transfers to a
higher optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) in the link, allowing for either longer reach of the system, higher
capacity, or both. In particular, our implementation of the NLC is based on pre-compensation (see Fig. 2). In the
experiments, the information-bearing waveforms, calculated by a full-complexity inverse nonlinear Schrödinger
equation solver were imprinted onto carriers drawn from a parametric comb [14], as shown in Fig. 2 [15].
Specifically, the assumed frequency reference need not be direct, but can also be indirect, by e.g. injection locking
free-running carriers to a frequency comb, as shown in the schematic in Fig. 2.
As an illustration of reach extension, experiments have been performed in a recirculating loop shown in Fig. 2.
The results of the experiment are shown in Fig. 3. For the selected BER threshold of 10-3, the system reach was
easily doubled for the 16 Gbaud 16 QAM modulation format separated by 25 GHz in single polarization. In effect,
as implied previously, the signal power was increased beyond the nonlinear limit and well into the previously
forbidden nonlinear transmission regime. This, in turn, provided for a more graceful OSNR decrease in
transmission, thus a significantly (i.e. 100%) extended reach with respect to what has been possible in the systems of
previous generation that were forced to operate in the quasi-linear regime. Fig. 3(e) shows the constellation
diagrams obtained from a reach doubling of dual-polarization 100 Gb/s experiment (i.e. from 3000 km to 6000 km)
based on 3 channel configuration on a 50 GHz grid.
In summary, the knowledge of relative frequencies of the WDM channels is demonstrated as essential in
unprecedented reversal of nonlinear crosstalk in single-mode fiber optic transmission. As a consequence, laboratory
results clearly demonstrate a path towards a new generation of transmission systems with longer reach and higher
spectral efficiencies than were previously conceived possible.

DAC I Trigger

QAM
VOA

10 dB
τ RX
Wave Shaper

QAM TX
6 dB Coupler

VOA Switch
PBS
VOA
25 GHz QAM τ Loop
COMB VOA Control SMF
Switch
85 km
QAM τ 1 nm
VOA

DAC II VOA

Fig. 2 (LHS) Practical implementation of DBP-Transmitter; DAC: Digital-to-Analog Converter QAM: Quadrature-Amplitude
Modulator. W - Variable optical delay line. PBS: Polarization beam splitter. VOA: Variable optical attenuator. (RHS) Recirculating loop
transmission architecture TX: Frequency Referenced Transmitter. VOA: Variable Optical Attenuator. SMF: Single-Mode Fiber.
Coherent RX: Coherent Receiver.

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Fig. 3 Reach doubling illustrations. Propagation in the nonlinear regime allowed for reach doubling of a 16 Gbaud 16QAM channels.
The constellations at 1530 km (maximum reach with conventional transmission) and 3060 km allowed by nonlinear cancellation are
shown on the far right of the figure. The chosen BER threshold for reach was set at 10 -3. (a) Dependence of the loop-output OSNR on the
input power per channel and distance; (b) Middle channel performance; (c) Constellation and the eye diagram of the in-phase and
quadrature tributaries at quasi-linear reach; (d) Constellation and the eye diagram of the in-phase and quadrature tributaries at
doubled reach enabled by NLC; (e) Reach doubling for 100 Gb/s dual-polarization link based on three channels.

4. References
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