Abstract

Intermodulation distortion (IMD) presents a major constraint to fiber-optic systems using subcarrier modulation techniques.¹ Previous studies of IMD^2,3 in long-wavelength high-speed InGaAsP lasers Investigated third-order distortion originating from two subcarriers at multi-gigahertz frequencies where resonance effects are most pronounced. We expand the theory to include all third-order products and present measurements showing that the SNR can be predicted for each channel of a multichannel subcarrier system based solely on the optical modulation depth (OMD), the number of channels, and the laser resonance frequency.

© 1988 Optical Society of America