Cascadability and reshaping properties of a saturable absorber inserted inside a RZ transmission line for future 160-Gbit/s all-optical 2R-regenerators

In this prospective work, we analyze the behavior of a quantum-well microcavity saturable absorber component cascaded into a 100-km SMF RZ transmission line in order to annihilate the ghost-pulse phenomenon in the following simplified “...010101...” 160-Gbit/s 2bit pattern at 1555 nm. Recirculating-loop experiments show a maximal ghost-pulse extinction up to 11.6 dB as well as an intensity extinction ratio enhancement higher than 6 dB over at least 800 km of propagation. I – INTRODUCTION With the deployment of the first 40 Gbit/s telecommunication systems in the forthcoming years, more and more attention is being paid to transmission lines working at higher bit-rates, such as 160 Gbit/s [1]. However, many studies reveal that these future networks, based on the transmission of picosecond or even sub-picosecond pulses, will suffer from low tolerance against cumulative propagation impairments, such as broadening due to chromatic and polarization mode