Properties of polarization noise caused by external disturbances in single-mode fiber transmission systems

The properties of polarization noise caused by external disturbances in intensity modulation/direct detection transmission systems that have polarization-dependent optical devices are analyzed. It is experimentally shown that the noise consists of additive noise and multiplicative noise. The multiplicative noise directly disturbs signals, even if the external disturbance is of a low frequency. The signal to polarization noise ratio easily reaches the ratio at which flickers obstruct the picture in an analog TV transmission system. The polarization noise caused by external disturbances is also discussed. It is shown that disturbances to the fiber can make the maximum noise n/sup 2/ times greater than the noise caused by a single disturbance, where n is the number of disturbances.<
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