Rayleigh backscattering noise suppression based on real-time heterodyne receiver for loop-back WDM-PON.

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a Rayleigh backscattering (RB) noise mitigation scheme based on the use of real-time heterodyne receiver for loop-back wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network (WDM-PON). Heterodyne detection has been utilized to increase the upstream receiver sensitivity, while an electro-absorption modulator (EAM) is used to simultaneously turn heterodyning bipolar signal into single polar signal and mitigate accumulated carrier RB noise. With the help of the nonlinear negative-slope transfer function of EAM, low frequency interference noise is suppressed successfully. RB noise mitigation performance is studied over 45-km single mode fiber (SMF) transmission, and the optical-signal-to-Rayleigh-noise-ratio (OSRNR) is reduced to 15.6 dB, when bias voltage of EAM is at -4 V. Through utilizing this real-time heterodyne receiver in single fiber loop-back structure, upstream error free transmission is realized with receiver sensitivity of -25 dBm.