Terabit/s super-channels are likely to become the standard for next-generation optical networks and optical interconnects. A particularly promising approach exploits optical frequency combs for super-channel generation. We show that injection locking of a gain-switched laser diode can be used to generate frequency combs that are particularly well suited for terabit/s super-channel transmission. This approach stands out due to its extraordinary stability and flexibility in tuning both center wavelength and line spacing. We perform a series of transmission experiments using different comb line spacings and modulation formats. Using 9 comb lines and 16QAM signaling, an aggregate line rate (net data rate) of 1.296 Tbit/s (1.109 Tbit/s) is achieved for transmission over 150 km of standard single mode fiber (SSMF) using a spectral bandwidth of 166.5 GHz, which corresponds to a (net) spectral efficiency of 7.8 bit/s/Hz (6.7 bit/s/Hz). The line rate (net data rate) can be boosted to 2.112 Tbit/s (1.867 Tbit/s) for transmission over 300 km of SSMF by using a bandwidth of 300 GHz and QPSK modulation on the weaker carriers. For the reported net data rates and spectral efficiencies, we assume a variable overhead of either 7% or 20% for forward-error correction depending on the individual sub-channel quality after fiber transmission.
References and links1. P. Winzer, "Beyond 100G Ethernet," IEEE Commun. Mag. 48(7), 26-30 (2010). 2. C. R. Cole, "100-Gb/s and beyond transceiver technologies," Opt. Fiber Technol. 17(5), 472-479 (2011). 3. S. Gringeri, E. Basch, and T. Xia, "Technical considerations for supporting data rates beyond 100 Gb/s," IEEE Commun. Mag. Becker, W. Freude, and J. Leuthold, "Real-time software-defined multiformat transmitter generating 64QAM at 28 GBd," IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 22(21), 1601-1603 (2010