Method and apparatus for generating signals with increased dispersion tolerance using a directly modulated laser transmitter

1. An apparatus for transmitting optical signals comprising:

a digital data source;

an optical signal source; and

a driving circuit coupled to the optical signal source and operable to convert a data signal into a drive signal provided to the optical signal source;

wherein:

the driving circuit is configured to receive a data stream from the digital data source;

the driving circuit is configured to generate for each bit in the data stream a pulse having a shape that is a function of an n-bit window in the data stream including the bit;

the n-bit window has a length n;

n is an integer greater than PΔν/T;

P is the sum of dispersion times length for all portions of an optical channel coupled between the optical signal source and an optical receiver, in picoseconds squared;

Δν is the largest frequency deviation in the spectrum of an optical signal output from the optical signal source; and

T is the bit period, in picoseconds, of the data stream.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the optical channel has a length of 400 km and n is greater than or equal to two.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the optical channel has a length of 600 km and n is greater than or equal to five.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the optical signal source includes a laser optically coupled to an optical spectrum reshaper, and wherein the optical spectrum reshaper is configured to convert frequency modulation of the optical signal to amplitude modulation.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the driving circuit is configured to generate a pulse effective to induce transient chirp in the output of the optical signal source, the transient chirp being a function of the n-bit window.

6. An apparatus for transmitting optical signals comprising:

a digital data source;

an optical signal source; and

a driving circuit coupled to the optical signal source and operable to convert a data signal into a drive signal provided to the optical signal source;

wherein:

the driving circuit is configured to receive a data stream from the digital data source;

the driving circuit is configured to generate for each bit in the data stream a pulse having a shape that is a function of an n-bit window in the data stream including the bit;

the optical signal source is configured to output a frequency modulated signal corresponding to the drive signal; and

the driving circuit is configured to generate a phase relationship between one bits in the frequency modulated signal, the phase relationship being a function of the n-bit window.

7. An apparatus for transmitting optical signals comprising:

a digital data source;

an optical signal source; and

a driving circuit coupled to the optical signal source and operable to convert a data signal into a drive signal provided to the optical signal source;

wherein:

the driving circuit is configured to receive a data stream from the digital data source;

the driving circuit is configured to generate a pulse effective to cause the optical signal source to output an optical signal having enhanced blue shifted transient chirp on a 0 to 1 transition of a 0110 bit sequence of the data stream;

the driving circuit is configured to generate a pulse effective to cause the optical signal source to output an optical signal having enhanced red shifted transient chirp on a 1 to 0 transition of a 0110 bit sequence of the data stream; and

the 0 to 1 transition includes a transition from a base frequency to a peak frequency and wherein the blue shifted transient chirp is greater than 50 percent of the frequency difference between the base and peak frequency.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the 1 to 0 transition includes a transition from a peak frequency to a base frequency and wherein the red shifted transient chirp is greater than 50 percent of the frequency difference between the base and peak frequency.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the driving circuit is configured to generate a pulse effective to cause the optical signal source to output an optical signal having:

a 1 to 0 transition between a peak frequency and a base frequency in a 1001 bit sequence, wherein the difference between the peak frequency and the base frequency is about equal to 0.75 times a bit rate of the data stream; and

a 0 to 1 transition between a base frequency and a peak frequency in a 1001 bit sequence, wherein the difference between the peak frequency and the base frequency is about equal to 0.75 times a bit rate of the data stream.

10. A method for transmitting optical signals comprising:

determining a memory of an optical channel;

setting a bit window length according to the memory of the optical channel;

inputting a data stream to a signal processor; and

for each bit, hereinafter referred to as the current bit, and a bit window containing the current bit and having the bit window length in the data stream:

comparing the bit window to a plurality of compensation rules;

generating a drive signal for the current bit according to the plurality of compensation rules and the bit window;

inputting the drive signal to a laser; and

coupling an output of the laser to the optical channel,

wherein the bit window length is equal to an integer n that is greater than PΔν/T, where P is the sum of dispersion times length for all portions of the optical channel, in picoseconds squared, between an optical receiver and the laser, Δν is the largest frequency deviation in the spectrum of the output of the laser and T is the bit period, in picoseconds, of the data stream.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the optical channel has a length of 400 km and n is greater than or equal to two.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the optical channel has a length of 600 km and n is greater than or equal to five.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein coupling an output of the laser to the optical channel comprises passing the output of the laser through an optical spectrum reshaper, the optical spectrum reshaper converting frequency modulation in the output of the laser to amplitude modulation.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating a drive signal for the current bit according to the plurality of compensation rules and the bit window comprises:

generating a pulse effective to cause the laser to output an optical signal having enhanced blue shifted transient chirp on a 0 to 1 transition of a 0110 bit sequence; and

generating a pulse effective to cause the laser to output an optical signal having enhanced red shifted transient chirp on a 1 to 0 transition of a 0110 bit sequence.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the 0 to 1 transition includes a transition from a base frequency to a peak frequency and wherein the blue shifted transient chirp is greater than 50 percent of the frequency difference between the base and peak frequency; and

wherein the 1 to 0 transition includes a transition from a peak frequency to a base frequency and wherein the red shifted transient chirp is greater than 50 percent of the frequency difference between the base and peak frequency.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating a drive signal for the current bit according to the plurality of compensation rules and the bit window comprises:

generating a pulse effective to cause the laser to output a 1 to 0 transition between a peak frequency and a first base frequency and a 0 to 1 transition between the peak frequency and the first base frequency in a 1001 bit sequence, wherein the difference between the peak frequency and the first base frequency is about equal to 0.75 times a bit rate of the data stream; and

generating a pulse effective to cause the laser to output a 1 to 0 transition between a peak frequency and a second base frequency and a 0 to 1 transition between the peak frequency and the second base frequency in a 101 bit sequence, wherein the difference between the peak frequency and the second base frequency is about equal to 0.5 times a bit rate of the data stream.

17. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the optical channel has a length of 400 km and n is greater than or equal to two.

18. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the optical signal source includes a laser optically coupled to an optical spectrum reshaper, and wherein the optical spectrum reshaper is configured to convert frequency modulation of the optical signal to amplitude modulation.

19. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the driving circuit is configured to generate a pulse effective to induce transient chirp in the output of the optical signal source, the transient chirp being a function of the n-bit window.