Disclosed is a transmitter that modulates a single-wavelength laser signal with multi-level amplitude modulation on each of two polarizations, with an additional multi-level inter-polarization phase modulation. In an experimental setup, four-level amplitude modulation is used on each of the two polarizations, and four-phase inter-polarization phase modulation is used. Other numbers of levels may be used, in variations of the disclosed techniques and apparatus. Also disclosed is a corresponding receiver, which includes a DSP algorithm that recovers, simultaneously, the information on the multiple intensities imprinted by the transmitter on each polarization and the information from the multi-level inter-polarization phase modulation.

An optical transmitter includes a signal-process circuit to process a transmission signal; an optical modulator to modulate light input by the transmission signal output from the signal-process circuit, and output an optical signal; and a control circuit to output a control signal for controlling a carrier frequency of the optical signal, to the signal-process circuit, wherein the signal-process circuit comprises a phase-rotation circuit to apply phase rotation of the carrier frequency on a complex plane according to the control signal, to the transmission signal, a map-adjustment circuit to determine scale factor for a map according to an angle of the phase rotation, and a modulation-format-map circuit to map the transmission signal on the complex plane based on a modulation format and the scale factor, wherein the phase-rotation circuit is configured to rotate, on the complex plane, the phase of the carrier frequency mapped based on the scale factor.

An optical transmitter includes a signal-processing circuit configured to perform signal processing on a first transmission signal and output a second transmission signal; an optical modulator configured to modulate input light with the second transmission signal and to output an optical signal; and a control circuit configured to output a control signal for controlling a carrier frequency of the optical signal to the signal-processing circuit, wherein the signal-processing circuit includes a map-adjustment circuit configured to adjust, based on the control signal and a modulation format, a map position of the second transmission signal onto a complex plane, and a phase-rotation circuit configured to apply, on the complex plane, rotation of a phase of the carrier frequency corresponding to the control signal to the second transmission signal at the adjusted map position.

Embodiments of this disclosure provide a signal transmission apparatus, a carrier phase recovery apparatus and method. By inserting phase modulation signals with variable amplitudes into data modulation signals and performing carrier phase recovery on received signals at a receiving end according to the phase modulation signals, the apparatuses and methods are applicable to communications systems of various modulation formats and are compatible with existing communications systems, and calculation complexity is relatively low. Furthermore, as the amplitudes of the inserted phase modulation signals are variable, the phase modulation signals may be flexibly configured in data modulation signals, to lower redundancy and influence on the system capacity is relatively small.

Techniques for transmitting a data signal through an optical communications system. An encoder is configured to encode the data signal to generate symbols to be modulated onto an optical carrier. Each symbol encodes multiple bits of data and includes a first portion selected from a first constellation and a second portion selected from a second constellation. The first and second constellations have respective different average amplitudes. Each of the first and second constellations have a cardinality of at least two and the cardinality of the first constellation is greater than the cardinality of the second constellation. A modulator is configured to modulate a first frame of the optical signal using the first portion and modulate a second frame of the optical signal using the second portion. A selection of one frame of the optical signal to be used as the first frame encodes at least 1 bit of data.

A digital instruction is generated regarding one or more electrical-to-optical conversion impairments induced at the transmitter of an optical communication system. The digital instruction may be used by the transmitter to reduce the impairments. Alternatively, or additionally, the digital instruction may be used by the receiver of the optical communication system to compensate for the impairments

An optical modulator element includes first and second optical modulators, an optical input terminal, and a branch coupler. Each of the first and second optical modulators includes a pair of Mach-Zehnder waveguides, a first optical coupler to split rays from the branch coupler into the pair of Mach-Zehnder waveguides, and a second optical coupler to combine rays transmitted through the pair of Mach-Zehnder waveguides. The first and second optical modulators are disposed in such a manner that a traveling direction of rays propagating through the pair of Mach-Zehnder waveguides of the first optical modulator and a traveling direction of rays propagating through the pair of Mach-Zehnder waveguides of the second optical modulator are angled toward each other.

A Mach Zehnder modulator operates by phase modulating split optical beams with a modulating signal to create dissimilarities in the optical characteristics between the split beams. When the beams are recombined, the dissimilarities gives rise to intensity modulations that are indicative of the modulating signal. One or both beams are modulated with an RF trimming signal. The trimming signal is applied asymmetrically across the two beams thereby reducing the intensity of the optical carrier frequency in one of the beams more than in the other. By selecting the size of the trimming signal the differences in the optical amplitude of the carrier frequency in the two beams can be nulled.

An optical transmitter includes: optical modulation means; bias voltage output means for supplying the optical modulation means with a bias voltage on which a pilot signal is superimposed; pilot signal receiving means; and bias voltage control means. The bias voltage control means includes: training means for determining a control start voltage and a control direction of the bias voltage based on a pilot signal component at first and second bias voltage values; and feedback means for determining an appropriate bias voltage to compensate for a deviation of an operating point of the optical modulation means by analyzing the pilot signal component while adjusting the bias voltage in a stepwise fashion along the control direction from the control start voltage after the control start voltage and the control direction are determined.

An optical receiver includes a photonic integrator configured to accumulate optical signal energy corresponding to the input optical signal during an integration period, and to produce an output optical signal at an end of the integration period, the output optical signal having a higher intensity than the input optical signal, a shutter operable between a closed position and an open position, the shutter configured to prevent the output optical signal from exiting the photonic integrator when in the closed position and to allow the output optical signal to exit the photonic integrator when in the open position, a synchronizer coupled to the shutter and configured to control the shutter between the open position and the closed position; and a photodetector configured to receive the output optical signal when the shutter is in the open position and to produce an electrical signal corresponding to the output optical signal.