Wiener filter equalization for source non-linearity in large-core 1mm SI-POF link

Abstract

There has been a relentless ever increasing demand on communication systems for enhancing data rates. Glass Optical Fiber (GOF) has established itself as the long haul backbone of communication systems and Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) is a strong contender for the - short haul - last mile part. Like Glass Optical Fiber (GOF), Plastic Optical Fiber (POF) is immune to electromagnetic interference but its high attenuation and multimodal dispersion restrict its bandwidth and reach severely. In recent paper [1] it has been established that an autocorrelation and crosscorrelation based Wiener filter can a more effective equalizer and the signal can be equalized using only FFE (Feed Forward Equalizer) with fewer taps. Another aspect that impacts the effectiveness of an equalizer is the source (LED) non-linearity in the SI-POF link. In this paper it is further sought to establish that the same Wiener filter equalizer can take care of the source (LED) non-linearity as well. The theoretical modeling of non-linearity of the source is presented and it is shown that the Wiener filter can effectively equalize the channel passed signal - even after the introduction of LED non-linearity in the channel link model. With source non-linearity also having been addressed by the same Wiener filter POF is poised as the apt channel for FTTH and fast ethernet. In fact, in a recent paper it is suggested that PoF (Power over Fiber) can also be transmitted using POF - thereby obviating separate power source at the receiver end [2].