System and method for managing system margin

1. An optical communication system comprising:

a plurality of optical transmitters operable to generate alone or collectively a plurality of wavelength signals at a bit rate of at least 9.5 gigabits per second and to communicate the plurality of wavelength signals over a multiple span communication link, wherein the plurality of wavelength signals comprise a bandwidth of at least sixty-five (65) nanometers separated into at least 160 optical channels, the plurality of optical transmitters adapted to generate the plurality of wavelength signals with each of the at least 160 optical channels separated from any adjacent optical channel within the at least 160 optical channels by a spacing of no more than 0.4 nanometers; and

at least one discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier coupled to one or more spans of the communication link, the discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier comprising at least a first Raman amplification stage and a second Raman amplification stage, wherein the second Raman amplification stage is cascaded with the first Raman amplification stage, wherein each of the first Raman amplification stage and the cascaded second Raman amplification stage operate to amplify substantially all of the at least 160 optical channels of the bandwidth of at least sixty-five (65) nanometers of the plurality of wavelength signals, wherein the first Raman amplification stage provides a first gain profile that is approximately complementary to a second gain profile provided by the second Raman amplification stage such that the overall gain profile of the first and second Raman amplification stages is approximately flat.

2. The optical communication system of claim 1 , further comprising at least five (5) optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs), each coupled to one or more spans of the multiple span communication link.

3. The optical communication system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the at least five OADMs is coupled mid-stage in a multiple stage amplifier coupled to one or more spans of the multiple span communication link.

4. The optical communication system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of distributed Raman amplification stages each coupled to at least one of the plurality of discrete amplifiers.

5. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein the multiple span communication link spans 800 kilometers without optical regenerators.

6. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein at least a majority of the transmitters implement a forward error correction (FEC) coding technique and communicate to the communication link FEC encoded wavelength signals, and wherein the FEC encoded wavelength signals comprise a bit error rate of 10 −09 or better after FEC decoding at a receiver coupled to the communication link.

7. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of transmitters comprises an electro-absorption modulated laser and wherein the electro-absorption modulated laser comprises a laser diode and an electro-absorption modulator residing on a common substrate.

8. The optical communication system of claim 7 , wherein the forward error correction technique results in a coding gain capable of at least partially compensating for a chirp generated by the electro-absorption modulated laser.

9. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and second Raman amplification stages comprise a dispersion compensating fiber operating as a gain medium and a dispersion compensating element.

10. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein each pump wavelength of a pump signal of the first or second Raman amplification stage is at least 10 nanometers shorter than the shortest wavelength of the plurality of wavelength signals.

11. The optical communication system of claim 1 , wherein the first Raman amplification stage amplifies at least some wavelength signals of shorter wavelength more than at least some wavelength signals of longer wavelength, and wherein the second Raman amplification stage amplifies at least some wavelength signals of longer wavelength more than at least some wavelength signals of shorter wavelength.

12. An optical communication system comprising:

a plurality of optical transmitters operable to generate alone or collectively a plurality of wavelength signals and to communicate the plurality of wavelength signals over a multiple span communication link, wherein the plurality of wavelength signals comprise a bandwidth of at least sixty-five (65) nanometers separated into at least 160 optical channels, the plurality of optical transmitters adapted to generate the plurality of wavelength signals with each of the at least 160 optical channels separated from any adjacent optical channel within the at least 160 optical channels by a spacing of no more than 0.4 nanometers, and wherein at least a majority of the transmitters implement a forward error correction (FEC) coding technique and communicate to the communication link FEC encoded wavelength signals;

a plurality of discrete amplifiers each coupled to one or more spans of the communication link, at least one of the plurality of discrete amplifiers comprising a discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier, the discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier comprising at least a first Raman amplification stage and a second Raman amplification stage, at least the first Raman amplification stage comprising a dispersion compensating fiber operating as a Raman gain medium, wherein the second Raman amplification stage is cascaded with the first Raman amplification stage, wherein the discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier operates on substantially all of the at least 160 optical channels without first passing the plurality of wavelength signals through a signal separator, wherein the first Raman amplification stage provides a first gain profile that is approximately complementary to a second gain profile provided by the second Raman amplification stage such that the overall gain profile of the first and second Raman amplification stages is approximately flat.

13. The optical communication system of claim 12 , wherein each of the at least 160 optical channels amplified by the discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier is separated from any adjacent optical channel within the at least 160 optical channels by a spacing of no more than 0.4 nanometers.

14. The optical communication system of claim 12 , wherein the multiple span communication link spans 800 kilometers without optical regenerators.

15. The optical communication system of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the plurality of transmitters comprises an electro-absorption modulated laser and wherein the forward error correction technique results in a coding gain capable of at least partially compensating for a chirp generated by the electro-absorption modulated laser.

16. The optical communication system of claim 12 , wherein the FEC encoded wavelength signals comprise a bit error rate of 10 −9 or better after FEC decoding.

17. The optical communication system of claim 12 , further comprising at least five (5) optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs), each coupled to one or more spans of the multiple span communication link and each imparting no more than two decibels of loss to any of the plurality of wavelength signals.

18. A method of communicating optical signals, the method comprising:

generating a plurality of wavelength signals at a rate of at least 9.5 gigabits per second, wherein the plurality of wavelength signals comprise a bandwidth of at least sixty-five (65) nanometers separated into at least 160 optical channels;

communicating the plurality of wavelength signals to a multiple span communication link; and

amplifying the plurality of wavelength signals at a discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier coupled to one or more spans of the communication link, the discrete multi-stage Raman amplifier comprising at least a first Raman amplification stage and a second Raman amplification stage, wherein the second Raman amplification stage is cascaded with the first Raman amplification stage, wherein each of the first Raman amplification stage and the cascaded second Raman amplification stage operate to amplify substantially all of the at least 160 optical channels of the bandwidth of at least sixty-five (65) nanometers of the plurality of wavelength signals, and wherein each of the at least 160 optical channels amplified by the multi-stage discrete Raman amplifier is separated from any adjacent optical channel within the at least 160 optical channels by a spacing of no more than 0.4 nanometers, wherein the first Raman amplification stage provides a first gain profile that is approximately complementary to a second gain profile provided by the second Raman amplification stage such that the overall gain profile of the first and second Raman amplification stages is approximately flat.

19. The method of communicating of claim 18 , further comprising encoding a forward error correction (FEC) sequence onto at least a majority of plurality of wavelength signals, wherein the FEC encoded wavelength signals comprise a bit error rate of 10 −09 or better after FEC decoding.

20. The method of communicating of claim 18 , wherein the multiple span communication link spans 800 kilometers or more without optical regenerators.

21. The method of communication of claim 18 , wherein the FEC encoded wavelength signals comprise an improvement in Q-factor of at least 6 decibels after FEC decoding.