Influence of timing errors on the performance of direct-detection optical-fibre communication systems

Upper and lower bounds are derived on error probability for direct-detection binary optical communication in the presence of jitter. Symbol-conditioned moment generating functions are employed, enabling the various stochastic impairments encountered, signal dependent compound Poisson statistics, coloured additive Gaussian noise and intersymbol interference, as well as timing errors in the signal elements or sampling instants, to be accommodated. The bounds are shown to be tight for a wide range of parameter values encompassing and extending significantly beyond those encountered in practical systems. They are then used to examine the influence of jitter on system performance.