System Penalty in Coherent Receiver Considering Distributed PMD, PDL, and ASE

Combined effects of distributed polarization mode dispersion (PMD), polarization dependent loss (PDL), and amplified-spontaneous-emission noise are considered in analyzing the bit error rate penalty of coherent transmission systems utilizing multiple-input-multiple-output equalization and least-mean-squared adaptation. A semianalytical model is used to evaluate system penalty at 10^-5 probability of occurrence. It is found that a large amount of PMD in the fiber can significantly reduce the PDL penalty. Similarly, intentionally introducing PMD in the transmitter can also reduce the PDL penalty.