Time-Resolved $Q$-factor Measurement and Its Application in Performance Analysis of 42.6 Gbit/s Packets Generated by SGDBR Lasers

We demonstrate a novel time-resolved
Q
-factor measurement technique and demonstrate its application in the analysis of optical packet switching systems with high information spectral density. For the first time, we report the time-resolved
Q
-factor measurement of 42.6 Gbit/s AM-PSK and DQPSK modulated packets, which were generated by a SGDBR laser under wavelength switching. The time dependent degradation of
Q
-factor performance during the switching transient was analyzed and was found to be correlated with different laser switching characteristics in each case.