Carrier recovery algorithms and real-time DSP implementation for coherent receivers

Phase noise is the most dynamic distortion in coherent optical transmission systems. • In the development of carrier recovery algorithms hardware implementation constraints have to be taken into account. • The choice between blind and pilot-based carrier recovery is not obvious. - Blind carrier recovery requires no overhead and achieves maximum phase noise tolerance, but requires differential coding and complex processing. - Pilot-based carrier recovery enables absolute phase detection and simple processing at the cost of additional signal overhead. • The optimal choice can be different depending on system constraints, e.g. long-haul vs. metro, power consumption vs. performance…