Applicability of Gaussian Noise Approximation for Optically Pre-Amplified DPSK Receivers wi.pdf

X. Zhang, et al., Applicability…. 1 Applicability of Gaussian Noise Approximation for Optically Pre-Amplified DPSK Receivers with Balanced Detection Xiupu Zhang, Zhenqian Qu Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA Tel: 514 848 2424 ext.4107, Fax: 514 848 2802, E-mail: xzhang@ece.concordia.ca Guodong Zhang, ATT, 200 Laurel Avenue, Middletown, NJ 07748, USA Guangxue Yang School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Harbin University of Science and Technology, CHINA Abstract: This letter presents a comparison of exact probability density function with the Gaussian noise approximation in optically pre-amplified DPSK receivers with optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer demodulation (MZI) and balanced detection, including the impact of phase noise. It is found that the Gaussian noise approximation significantly over-estimates ASE-ASE beat noise in DPSK receivers with balanced detection particularly when phase noise is negligible, compared to IM/DD receivers, ASE- amplified spontaneous emission. However, the Gaussian noise approximation is still applicable for DPSK receivers with balanced detection and the measured 3-dB advantage is predicted by the Gaussian noise distribution. Indexing Terms: Optical fiber communication, optical receiver, optical modulation, differential phase shift keying, wavelength division multiplexing. X. Zhang, et al., Applicability…. 2 I. Introduction Differential phase shift keying (DPSK) with optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) demodulation and balanced detection has gained much attention since several advantages over intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) have been discovered [1-5]. Particularly, the requirement of optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR) is reduced by 3 dB, or the transmission distance is doubled [1-5] for the same system performance by using DPSK/MZI receivers with balanced detection (DPSK/M