Forward error correction in dispersion-limited lightwave systems

A rate 0.964 forward error correcting (FEC) code is integrated into the low-speed tributaries of a 565-Mb/s lightwave system as an exploratory system design approach toward relaxing requirements on laser sources in dispersion-limited operation. By virtually removing error rate floors, regardless of their cause, FEC is shown to provide an increasing advantage in conditions of greater degradation and to be effective against mode partition noise (MPN), mode jumping, and reflection impairments.The experimental FEC code is implemented in a standard gate array. The FEC code is described and its performance is analyzed. A new system design strategy is suggested for low-cost gigabit lightwave systems using FEC. >