Spectrally efficient optical label insertion/extraction technique using an optical single sideband filter

A novel label insertion technique, using an adaptive optical single sideband (OSSB) filter, is experimentally shown. The OSSB filter is used to suppress one of the sidebands of the 40-Gb/s payload signal, and a 2.5-Gb/s intensity modulated signal is inserted as a label in the suppressed sideband. Lower label-payload crosstalk is observed using the OSSB filter compared to the absence of sideband suppression, allowing a reduction of 5 dB in the label power without additional penalty. The enhanced tolerance to group velocity dispersion (GVD) of the payload is experimentally assessed and a 5-dB penalty is observed for 136 ps/nm of accumulated dispersion. Additionally, simulation results show the efficient use of electrical dispersion compensation to improve the GVD tolerance, allowing the doubling of the dispersion tolerance