An optical data communication system includes an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. A polarization-maintaining optical data communication link extends from an optical output of the optical transmitter to an optical input of the optical receiver. The polarization-maintaining optical data communication link includes at least two sections of polarization-maintaining optical fiber optically connected through an optical connector. The at least two sections of polarization-maintaining optical fiber have different lengths. The optical connector is configured to optically align a fast polarization axis of a first polarization-maintaining optical fiber to a slow polarization axis of a second polarization-maintaining optical fiber. The optical connector is also configured to optically align a slow polarization axis of the first polarization-maintaining optical fiber to a fast polarization axis of the second polarization-maintaining optical fiber.

An apparatus and method to monitor a polarization change by inserting pilot signals in a transmission signal and converting the pilot signals in the receiving signal from a Jones space into a Stokes space. A velocity of a polarization change of the optical link is estimated by using the Stokes vectors of the pilot signals, thereby directly and accurately estimating the polarization change of the optical link. Moreover, estimation of the velocity of the polarization may be applicable where rotation of state of polarization and polarization-dependent loss coexist in an optical link.

A state of polarization tracking recovery method and apparatus. The apparatus at least includes a processor configured to fit Stokes vectors to which predetermined symbols correspond of two states of polarization in a received dual-polarization multiplexing optical signal on a Poincare sphere to obtain a fitted plane. The processor calculates a compensation matrix for polarization-dependent loss (PDL) in a Jones space by moving a center of the fitted plane to the origin of the Poincare sphere, and calculates a demultiplexing matrix used for polarization demultiplexing in a Jones space by rotating the fitted plane with the center being moved to the origin until a normal vector of the fitted plane is parallel with a first axis of the Stokes space and rotating the fitted plane with the center being moved to the origin to a plane constituted by a second axis and a third axis of the Stokes space.

A receiver is configured to detect, at a communication interface, a received signal that suffers from degradations incurred over a communication channel. The receiver applies an adaptive filter to a series of received blocks of a digital representation of the received signal, thereby generating respective filtered blocks. The receiver calculates coefficients for use by the adaptive filter on an j.sup.th received block as a function of (i) error estimates associated with an (j−D−1).sup.th filtered block, where D is a positive integer representing a number of blocks, and where j is a positive integer greater than (D−1); and (ii) delay compensation terms dependent on an estimate of a difference between coefficients used by the adaptive filter on an (j−D−1).sup.th received block and coefficients used by the adaptive filter on an (j−1).sup.th received block

A quantum communications system includes a quantum key generation system having a photonic quantum bit generator, a dispersion compensating optical fiber link, and a photon detector unit and a communications network having a signal generator, a signal channel, and a signal receiver. The dispersion compensating optical fiber link extends between and optically couples the photonic quantum bit generator and the photon detector unit. Further, the dispersion compensating optical fiber link is structurally configured to induce dispersion at an absolute dispersion rate of about 9 ps/(nm)km or less and induce attenuation at an attenuation rate of about 0.18 dB/Km or less such that the quantum key bit information of a plurality of photons output by the one or more photonic quantum bit generators is receivable at the photon detector unit at a bit rate of at least about 10 Gbit/sec.

A polarization scrambler using a retardance element (RE) is disclosed. The polarization scrambler may include an optical fiber input to transmit an optical signal, and a beam expander to receive and expand the optical signal to create an expanded optical signal. The polarization scrambler may include a retardance element (RE) to cause a polarization scrambling effect on the expanded optical signal and to create a scrambled expanded optical signal. The polarization scrambler may include a beam reducer to receive and reduce the scrambled expanded optical signal to create a scrambled optical signal. The polarization to scrambler may include an optical fiber output to receive scrambled optical signal. The optical fiber output may transmit the scrambled optical signal to one or more downstream optical components.

A polarization recovery device comprises an input that receives a first optical signal with unknown polarization and with at least one signal parameter at an initial value, a first output that outputs a second optical signal with known polarization and with the at least one signal parameter at or near the initial value, and a recovery block that generates the second optical signal based on the first optical signal.

An echo cancellation method includes steps of (a) extracting phase-distortion estimates, (b) reconstructing an echo signal, (c) generating a clean signal, and (d) producing a primary signal. Step (a) includes extracting, from a first phase signal, a plurality of phase-distortion estimates, the first phase signal having been estimated from an echo-corrupted signal received at a first coherent transceiver of a coherent optical network. Step (b) includes reconstructing an echo signal from the plurality of phase-distortion estimates and a transmitted signal transmitted by the first coherent transceiver. Step (c) includes generating a clean signal as a difference between the reconstructed echo signal and the first phase signal. Step (d) includes producing a primary signal by mapping each of a plurality of clean-phase estimates of the clean signal to one of a plurality of constellation symbols associated with a modulation scheme of the primary signal.

Systems and methods for performing polarization compensation in optical fiber-based quantum telecommunications systems are provided. The system includes a polarization modulator optically coupled to a photon source by an optical fiber and at least one controller coupled to the polarization modulator. The at least one controller is configured to determine, using a machine learning model and/or a lookup table, a feedback parameter based on one or more measurements of a polarization of probe photons at a location along the optical fiber, the probe photons being generated by the photon source; and using the feedback parameter, to change a setting of the polarization modulator to change a polarization of quantum data photons propagating in the optical fiber subsequent to the probe photons.

An apparatus and method to monitor a polarization change by inserting pilot signals in a transmission signal and converting the pilot signals in the receiving signal from a Jones space into a Stokes space. A velocity of a polarization change of the optical link is estimated by using the Stokes vectors of the pilot signals, thereby directly and accurately estimating the polarization change of the optical link. Moreover, estimation of the velocity of the polarization may be applicable where rotation of state of polarization and polarization-dependent loss coexist in an optical link.