Statistical Investigations of the Transmission Performance of Adaptively Modulated Optical OFDM Signals in Multimode Fiber Links

Abstract

Statistical investigations of the transmission performance of Adaptively Modulated Optical Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (AMOOFDM) are undertaken in single-channel, optical amplifier-free, Multimode Fiber (MMF)-based links using Intensity Modulation and Direct Detection (IMDD). Numerical simulations are performed using statistically constructed 1000 worst-case MMF links having 3-dB bandwidths varying in a range of 220-490 MHz middot km. It is shown that, by employing practically available devices, >30 Gb/s over 300-m AMOOFDM signal transmission is achievable in 99.5% of already installed MMF links, while by employing components that may be available in the future, the AMOOFDM technique is capable of supporting 100 Gb/s over 150-m signal transmission in 99.5% of already installed MMF links. In addition, it is confirmed, from a statistical point of view, that AMOOFDM has excellent flexibility and great robustness to different types of fibers and lasers, restricted launch conditions and practical implementation-related factors such as optical connector offset. It is also found that cyclic prefix and quantization are the key factors limiting the maximum achievable transmission performance of the AMOOFDM technique.