Clipping distortion in lightwave CATV systems: models, simulations, and measurements

We report theoretical, numerical, and experimental investigations of clipping distortions in CATV systems are reported. The applicability of A.A.M. Saleh's (1989) calculation of the carrier-to-nonlinear-distortion ratio (CNLD) is extended by incorporating a more precise spectral analysis and further analytic results. An effective transfer function model which spectrally resolves the clipping distortion at intermodulation products (IMPs) of all orders and frequencies, and features closed-form analytic calculation of the second- and third-order distortions (CSO and CTB) from basic principles, as well as the CNLD, is introduced. It is found that Saleh's model slightly overestimates the simulation results for the CNLD, while the new model is in essential agreement with the simulation for all three distortion measures. Experimental measurements of the CSO, CTB, and CNLD over a 50-dB range in distortion exhibited excellent agreement with the simulations and the new model over the entire range. The unified nature of the model allows standard CATV, CSO, and CTB measurements to be theoretically connected to the CNLD and clipping boundary.