A high capacity noncoherent FSK lightwave field experiment using Er/sup 3+/-doped fiber optical amplifiers

A description is given of high-bit-rate fiber-optic noncoherent frequency-shift keying (FSK) transmission field experiments using Er/sup 3+/-doped optical amplifiers. Transmission distances of 70 km for a four-channel 6.8-Gb/s capacity experiment and 177 km for single-channel 1.7-Gb/s transmissions were demonstrated in a typical field environment. Measurements of receiver sensitivity dispersion penalty, interchannel crosstalk, and long-term bit-error-rate performance are presented. Results show negligible degradations due to >3000-ps/nm dispersion and interchannel crosstalk, in addition to stable long-term performance. This performance demonstrates the applicability of noncoherent FSK and fiber amplifier technologies.<
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