The influence of the dispersionmap on optical OFDM transmissions

Fiber-optic networks are an integral part of todays digital communication system. In these networks, distances of typically 400 km to 6000 km are linked together, and information is transfered at extremely high data rates. As the demands for capacity increases, finding new methods for cost effective long-haul transmission systems that can be used to increase the capacity becomes of high interest. In this work Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), which is a standard digital modulation format in many wireless communication systems, for instance the IEEE 802.11n, is adapted to the optical domain and used for data transmission. The advantage of OFDM in the optical domain is that it transforms a high data rate stream into many simultaneously low bit rate streams that are efficiently frequency multiplexed. By doing so high spectral efficiency is achieved and many of the impairments encountered in high data rate transmissions are avoided. The disadvantage is however, that OFDM has inherently a high peak-to-average power ratio. As a result, OFDM suffers from nonlinearities occurring along the transmission line. The low nonlinear tolerance of OFDM in fiber optic applications restricts the feasible transmission distance. The goal of this work is to assess the suitability of OFDM in fiber-optic communication