Performance of 10 Gb/s lightwave systems using a adjustable chirp optical modulator and linear equalization

An optical modulator with an adjustable chirp parameter and a synchronous tapped delay line equalizer can be combined to offer a low dispersion penalty for 10 Gb/s systems operating at a wavelength of 1.55 mu m with standard single-mode optical fiber. The influence of important system parameters, such as the modulator bandwidth, chirp parameter, and number of equalizer taps, on the receiver sensitivity is assessed for smart receivers which jointly optimize the decision time, decision threshold, and tap weights under a minimum bit-error-ratio criterion. The combination of an adjustable chirp modulator and equalizer offers a system reach more than twice that obtained with a chirp-free modulator.>