Performance verification of a variable bit-rate limiter for on-off keying (OOK) optical systems

A close-form analytical expression is obtained for the performance study of a bit-rate limiter (BRL). Both bit-error rate (BER) and power penalty are derived for different BRL modulation signals and modulation formats using a random signal model. We also present ways to improve the BRL performance and to eliminate the BRL-induced crosstalk, by using an optimal BRL modulation index and a specific BRL modulation signal, respectively. The analytical expression is found to match well with the experimental measurements.