Numerical simulation of clipping-induced distortion in analog lightwave systems

Clipping is a fundamental source of distortion in subcarrier multiplexed lightwave system. The authors numerically simulate the clipping nonlinear distortion for CATV systems. The simulation results agree well with the Saleh clipping limit for effective modulation depths greater than 0.25. The composite second-order (CSO) and composite triple-beat (CTB) distortion are also predicted. The results indicate that the CSO and CTB distortion rise sharply at nearly the same value of the effective root-mean-square (RMS) modulation depth as the total nonlinear distortion (NLD).<>