Polarization mode dispersion and phase noise effects in optical OFDM links

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is one of the main limitation factors in high speed optical communication systems. Because of its statistical behavior it cannot be fully controlled like the chromatic dispersion. In this paper we show how the PMD distorts the signal and we give a simple method to minimize the distortion. Not only the PMD but also the linewidth of the laser distorts the signal. The proposed PMD minimization method is based on the contribution of the lasers, therefore it is important to determine the distortion caused by the lasers.