Terabit transmission on a single wavelength channel

The authors report on components and techniques for transmission beyond 1 Tbit/s on a single wavelength channel. In particular, signal generation using advanced modulation formats, transmission over appropriate fiber spans and ultrafast demultiplexing are discussed. By combining DQPSK with OTDM-multiplexing technology (optical time domain multiplexing) and polarization division multiplexing, they recently achieved a new record single channel data rate of 2.56 Tbit/s. The 2.56 Tbit/s DQPSK data signal was transmitted over 160 km dispersion managed fiber (DMF). The OTDM-DQPSK transmitter produced a clear data signal up to. Also the NOLM demultiplexer was sufficient for an error free performance. The most serious transmission limitations were given by the residual dispersion slope and PMD of the fiber link. Details of the experimental setup are discussed in which the results were achieved.