A method of improving an information transmission rate involves reducing atmospheric distortions by emitting at the same or nearly the same wavelength a reference source for adaptive optic correction and a signal source for optical communication. The reference source is brighter than the signal source and the (pulsed or continuous) reference source is emitted earlier than the (pulsed or continuous) signal source. By adjustment of the time delay between the reference source and the signal source and/or the delay time in adaptive optics control and/or apparent angular speed of the sources relative to the detecting module and/or the physical separation between the reference source and the signal source, the optical paths of a reference source beam and a signal source beam have about same wavefront distortion. The reference source beam and the signal source beam are detected in a side by side manner by detectors physically located next to each other. Adaptive optics are used for wave distortion correction on the reference source to simultaneously correct distortion of the signal source.

Optoelectronic oscillator systems and an optoelectronic oscillator noise reduction method. One example of an optoelectronic oscillator system includes an optical source positioned at a first end of a fiber-optic path, the optical source being configured to transmit an optical signal along the fiber-optic path, an optical modulator positioned to receive and modulate the optical signal based on at least a reference signal, a retro-reflector positioned at a second end of the fiber-optic path, the retro-reflector being configured to receive and retro-reflect the optical signal, the retro-reflected optical signal having at least a frequency range of inherent fiber noise canceled, and an optical circulator positioned along the fiber-optic path between the optical modulator and the retro-reflector, the optical circulator being configured to direct the optical signal to the retro-reflector and direct the retro-reflected optical signal along a feedback path to a first photodetector to generate the reference signal.

An optical transmitter includes, a processor that receives an input data signal from an outside and performs rotation processing for periodically or repeatedly rotating a polarization state or phase of the optical output signal upon the input data signal, an optical modulator that modulates light transmitted from a light source based on the input data signal, a digital-to-analog converter that converts an output of the processor into an analog electric signal, a driving circuit that amplifies an output of the digital-to-analog converter and drives the optical modulator, and a monitoring control circuit that monitors an optical output signal output from the optical modulator and adjusts at least one of an output of the digital-to-analog converter and a gain of the driving circuit based on a result of monitoring of the optical output signal.

An optical communications apparatus comprising a host (100) and an optical module (200) comprising a Mach-Zehnder modulator (202), MZM, wherein the optical module is removably connected to the host via a connection path, the optical communications apparatus comprising: a signal generator (101) at the host, configured to generate a plurality of calibration signals at a plurality of frequencies; a host interface (102) configured to transmit the calibration signals to the optical module via the connection path; a module interface (201) configured to receive the transmitted calibration signals; wherein the MZM is configured to use the calibration signals to modulate a laser light source (206) and biased to a point at which average output power is proportional to the output modulated signal; an optical detector configured to measure an average magnitude of an output of the MZM when each of the calibration signals is used to modulate the laser light source; one of a host calibration unit (103) and a module calibration unit (203), configured to determine a magnitude response of the connection path based on the measured average magnitudes and magnitudes of the respective calibration signals, and further configured to determine a pre-emphasis characteristic based on the magnitude response, the pre-emphasis characteristic for application to signals transmitted by the optical transmitter in use.

An optical transmitter has an optical modulator with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a pilot signal generator configured to generate a pilot signal to be superimposed on a drive signal for driving the optical modulator or on a substrate bias voltage applied to the optical modulator, and a controller configured to detect a ratio between a pilot component and a direct current component contained in a light output from the optical modulator and control at least one of an amplitude of the drive signal and a level of the substrate bias voltage such that the ratio becomes a constant value.

The present invention is directed to optical communication systems and methods thereof. In various embodiments, the present invention provides method for linearizing Mach Zehnder modulators by digital pre-compensation and adjusting the gain of the driver and/or the modulation index. The pre-compensation can be implemented as a digital pre-compensation algorithm, which is a part of an adaptive feedback loop. There are other embodiments as well.

An optical modulator includes an optical modulator chip configured to optically modulate an optical signal using an electrical signal input thereto; and a relay substrate configured to relay and couple the electrical signal to the optical modulator chip. The optical modulator chip includes a signal electrode and a ground electrode for the electrical signal, formed along a waveguide for the optical signal. One end of the optical modulator chip is arranged to face the relay substrate. An electrode connection portion coupling the electrical signal to the relay substrate by wire is provided at the one end. A distance between a tip of one end of the signal electrode in the electrode connection portion and the end of the optical modulator chip is less than a distance between a tip of an end of the ground electrode in the electrode connection portion and the end of the optical modulator chip.

A system for controlling an optical intensity and modulation of an optical data transmitter which includes current driver circuitry configured to provide a drive current to a laser diode wherein said current comprises a fixed component and a modulated component, said modulated component having a magnitude related to an input data stream. The monitor circuitry contains a photodiode and a first transimpedance amplifier coupled to said photodiode, said monitor circuitry configured to provide an output signal related to an optical intensity of said laser diode. The system further includes replica monitor circuitry containing a replica capacitor with a replica capacitance and a second transimpedance amplifier configured to be substantially identical in construction to said first transimpedance amplifier, said second transimpedance amplifier coupled to said replica capacitor. The system further includes replica capacitance control circuitry configured to control said replica capacitance of said replica capacitor to match a capacitance associated with said photodiode.

An optical communication apparatus includes: a light-receiving device that receives an optical signal transmitted from another optical communication apparatus through an optical fiber and converts the optical signal into an electrical signal; a first measurement circuit that measures an average power and a modulation power of the optical signal based on the electrical signal; a light-emitting device that transmits the optical signal to the another optical communication apparatus by emitting light in accordance with a driving current; a driver that causes the light-emitting device to transmit the optical signal according to a transmission signal by controlling the driving current based on the transmission signal; and a processor that adjusts the driving current based on the average power and the modulation power.

Disclosed herein is a modulator (50) for polarization-division multiplexing (PDM) transmission. The modulator (50) comprises first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28) associated with first and second polarizations, each DP-MZM (12, 28) having an input for an in-phase and a quadrature driving signal for modulating the in-phase and quadrature components of an optical signal according to respective transfer functions, and a detector (58) suitable for detecting light comprising at least a portion of the light outputted by the first DP-MZM (12) and a portion of the light outputted by the second DP-MZM (28). The modulator (50) is adapted to superimpose a first pilot signal on one of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the first DP-MZM (12) and on one of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the second DP-MZM (28), and a second pilot signal on the respective other of the in-phase and quadrature driving signals of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28). Further, the first and second pilot signals are chosen such that the signal detected by said detector (58) is indicative as to whether the slopes of the transfer functions are different for the in-phase and quadrature components of one of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28) and identical for the other of the first and second DP-MZMs (12, 28).