The number of four-wave mixing (FWM) waves in WDM systems and its applications

Abstract

Explicit formulas are derived for the number of four-wave mixing (FWM) waves that fall onto each signal channel in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems. These formulas indicate that the maximum number of FWM products on one channel in a WDM system has quadratic dependence on the number of channels. FWM crosstalk in WDM systems can be estimated by using these formulas in combining with other system parameters. They also provide a fast way to perform conversions on number of channels (or capacity) among different bit rates, such as 2.5, 10 and 40 Gbit/s, for given optical bandwidths of optical amplifiers.