All-optical 2R regenerator based on similariton-induced spectral broadening

Abstract

We numerically investigated an all-optical high-bit-rate 2R-regenerator based on similariton-induced spectral broadening of the optical signal spectrum. The proposed configuration incorporates two cascaded regeneration stages. Active and passive generation of similariton pulses in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber and a comb-like dispersion decreasing fiber are used for the first and the second stages, respectively. The study of the static behavior of the regenerator linking the design to their nonlinear power transfer functions reveals the operating conditions under which the regenerator is able to reduce amplitude noise and improve the signal extinction ratio. Furthermore, the potential of the proposed configuration is evaluated to regenerate an optical signal at 40 Gbit / s, and the 2R-regenerator is then assessed in a long recirculating fiber loop to investigate its cascadibility. The ability of the 2R-regenerator to enable operating at high-bit rates up to 160 Gbit / s is also investigated. The results demonstrate the high potential of similariton pulses for all-optical 2R-regeneration in future high-speed and long-haul transmission systems.