Experimental optical generation of DP-16QAM modulation format for high spectral efficiency optical transmission

• Published in: Journal of Microwaves, Optoelectronics and Electromagnetic Applications Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. 547 - 554
• Main Authors: Silva, E. P., Carvalho, L. H. H., Silva, R., Perin, J. P. K, Silva, M. L., Cardoso, P. P. G., Oliveira, J. C. R. F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Microondas e Optoeletrônica e Sociedade Brasileira de Eletromagnetismo 01-12-2013; Sociedade Brasileira de Microondas e Optoeletrônica; Sociedade Brasileira de Eletromagnetismo
• Subjects: 16QAM; ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC; modulation formats; optical transmission; OPTICS; spectral efficiency; 16QAM; modulation formats; optical transmission; spectral efficiency
• ISSN: 2179-1074; 2179-1074
• DOI: 10.1590/S2179-10742013000200023

In this paper, we present a simple experimental method to generate a DP-16QAM optical signal for high spectral efficiency optical transmission. A 16QAM optical signal is generated by passing a DP-QPSK signal through a linear polarization filter in a certain angle so that a square 16QAM can be achieved. Afterwards, we use a polarization multiplexer in order to produce a dual polarization signal. This method proved to be a straightforward and stable way to generate a DP-16QAM signal. In addition, we show that it can provide the same quality in terms of BER per OSNR demonstrated elsewhere.