FSK Modulation Scheme for High-Speed Optical Transmission

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[Abstract] In this paper, we describe the generation, detection, and performance of frequency-shift keying (FSK) for high-speed optical transmission and label switching. A non-return-to-zero (NRZ) FSK signal is generated by using two continuous-wave (CW) lasers, one Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM), and one Mach-Zehnder delay interferometer (MZDI). An RZ-FSK signal is generated by cascading a dual-arm MZM, which is driven by a sinusoidal voltage at half the bit rate. Demodulation can be achieved on 1 bit rate through one MZDI or an array waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexer with balanced detection. We perform numerical simulation on two types of frequency modulation schemes using MZM or PM, and we determine the effect of frequency tone spacing (FTS) on the generated FSK signal. In the proposed scheme, a novel frequency modulation format has transmission advantages compared with traditional modulation formats such as RZ and differential phase-shift keying (DPSK), under varying dispersion management. The performance of an RZ-FSK signal in a 4 × 40 Gb/s WDM transmission system is discussed. We experiment on transparent wavelength conversion based on four-wave mixing (FWM) in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and in a highly nonlinear dispersion shifted fiber (HNDSF) for a 40 Gb/s RZ-FSK signal. The feasibility of all-optical signal processing of a high-speed RZ-FSK signal is confirmed. We also determine the receiver power penalty for the RZ-FSK signal after a 100 km standard single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission link with matching dispersion compensating fiber (DCF), under the post-compensation management scheme. Because the frequency modulation format is orthogonal to intensity modulation and vector modulation (polarization shift keying), it can be used in the context of the combined modulation format to decrease the data rate or enhance the symbol rate. It can also be used in orthogonal label-switching as the modulation format for the payload or the label.

[Keywords] optical communication; return-to-zero frequency shift keying; Mach-Zehnder modulator; Mach-Zehnder delay interferometer; chromatic dispersion; wavelength conversion; label switching