Linewidth-tolerant 30 Gbit/s 8-PSK self-homodyne using single modulator and phase-noise cancelling technique

Linewidth-tolerant 8-ary phase-shift keying (8-PSK) self-homodyne modulation/demodulation at symbol rates of 10 Gsymbol/s (30 Gbit/s) and 1 Gsymbol/s (3 Gbit/s) using a distributed-feedback laser diode with a linewidth of 30 MHz and a single modulator is experimentally demonstrated. Owing to the phase-noise cancelling capability of the self-homodyne scheme based on a polarisation-multiplexed pilot-carrier, a floorless bit error rate performance of <10^-9 was achieved; this value was obtained even for the symbol rate of 1 Gsymbol/s, at which the required linewidth condition is stringent. Furthermore, the tolerances against differential group delays and dispersion at the symbol rate of 10 Gsymbol/s have been evaluated.