Performance issues associated with WDM optical systems using self-seeded gain switched pulse sources due to mode partition noise effects

Bit-error-rate measurements have been carried out on a four-channel wavelength division multiplexed setup using tunable self-seeded gain-switched pulse sources. These measurements demonstrate the degradation in overall system performance, due to mode partition noise, as the sidemode suppression ratio of the self-seeded gain-switched optical pulse sources is reduced. The results also show that the constraints on the minimum sidemode suppression ratio required increase with the number of channels in the system.