Tutorial: forward error correction for optical transmission systems

Summary form only given. Forward error correction (FEC) is a method of correcting transmission errors using redundant information added to the transmitted messages. As such it provides a mechanism to increase transmission capacity, extend system lengths, and/or lower overall system costs. This tutorial provides an introduction to FEC as it is applied to optical transmission systems. It includes an intuitive view of the basics of FEC, an introduction to FEC terminology, a discussion of some specific codes including performance, and a discussion of the issues associated with implementing an FEC device.