Demonstration of an electronic dispersion compensator in a 100-km 10-Gb/s ring network

We experimentally demonstrate that an electronic dispersion compensator (EDC) can substantially improve the performance of a metropolitan area network. In our experimental testbed, the optical path varies in length from 20 to 80 km. Using an EDC increased the network´s tolerance of transmitter impairments, and removed the need for other dispersion compensation. Unlike previous demonstrations of electronic equalization, which employed LiNbO/sub 3/ Mach-Zehnder modulators, we also used electroabsorption modulators (EAMs). Electroabsorption modulation is desirable in cost-sensitive applications, as EAMs are less expensive than LiNbO/sub 3/ modulators, and integration with the laser can lower the cost further. Unfortunately, the chirp in an EAM can be higher than that of a LiNbO/sub 3/ modulator, which decreases the link´s tolerance to chromatic dispersion. We demonstrated that electronic signal processing can mitigate this, enabling the use of these less expensive modulators.