Transmitter Optimization for PS-QAM Signal in High Spectral Efficiency Metro-Transmission

Probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) brings unprecedented flexibility to future optical networks. However, PCS combined with higher-order modulation formats and higher symbol rates puts more demands on the transmitter. For metro-transmission with high spectral efficiency (SE), transmitter impairments are responsible for a major portion of the system constraints. To address this issue, in this work we study the impact of transmitter impairments on probabilistically shaped quadrature amplitude modulation (PS-QAM) signals. First, we investigate the impact of transmitter impairments and radio frequency (RF) amplifier noise on the optimum shaping factor and the modulation depth within a fiber link. Then, we explore how generalized mutual information (GMI) and the shaping factor are affected by the noise from the transmitter. Next, we first jointly optimize the arcsine swing and the clipping ratio, in order to mitigate the transmitter impairments for the PS-QAM signal, when the modulation depth, the noise from the transmitter, the noise from the fiber optical channel, and the shaping factor are fixed. Then, we verify its validity for various configurations of transmission system. The optimized parameters primarily depend on the noise from the transmitter and turn out to be insensitive to the noise from the fiber optical link and the shaping factor. Finally, we experimentally verify the optimization strategy with PS-256QAM in back-to-back (B2B) transmission.

Automated summary

Probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) provides unprecedented flexibility for future optical networks, but it demands more from the transmitter when combined with higher-order modulation formats and higher symbol rates. In this study, we investigate the impact of transmitter impairments on probabilistically shaped quadrature amplitude modulation (PS-QAM) signals and propose an optimization strategy to mitigate the impairments. The results show that the optimized parameters mainly depend on the noise from the transmitter and are insensitive to the noise from the fiber optical link and the shaping factor.