Chirp-free tunable PMD compensation using Hi-Bi nonlinearly-chirped FBGs in a dual-pass configuration

We demonstrate chirp-free tunable PMD compensation for a l0 Gbit/s signal by using an adjustable high-birefringence nonlinearly-chirped FBG in a novel dual-pass configuration that significantly reduces the chirp induced by the FBG. We show PMD compensation with tunability from 250 to 600 ps in which the power penalty due to fiber dispersion in a 45 km link interacting with the FBG induced chirp is reduced from 4 to 0.5 dB.