Comparison of polarization handling methods in coherent optical systems

The authors compare three polarization handling methods in coherent optical systems. These methods are: endless polarization control, polarization diversity, and data-induced polarization switching. These methods are also compared with active, data-synchronous polarization switching. It is seen that endless polarization control is potentially the most powerful candidate, however, the choice of polarization control devices remain questionable. Polarization diversity is as versatile as polarization control and is potentially the fastest method; however, it yields lower receiver sensitivity. Endless control or a well-designed diversity receiver should be used for coherent trunk systems. Data-induced polarization switching is restricted to frequency-shift-keying (FSK) systems. It promises a loss span similar to that of diversity, but is far simpler, which makes it recommendable for FSK distribution systems