PMD Mitigation by Various Distribution Patterns of Fast Polarization Scramblers with Forward Error Correction

Abstract

The joint distributed fast polarization scramblers (D-FPSs) and forward error correction (FEC) is one of methods used to mitigate polarization mode dispersion (PMD). The distribution pattern of FPSs, which indicates how the FPSs are deployed along the fiber link, is a significant factor for this PMD mitigation scheme. The performance of the bit error rate (BER) for the case with or without FPSs is investigated by simulations. Five different distribution patterns of FPSs along the fiber link are designed in this paper, and the performance for each pattern is depicted by a novel representation that is known as the “Ring Chart.” The results show that the property of PMD mitigation varies with different distribution patterns of FPSs.