In a typical fiber optic network design, laser relative intensity noise (RIN) and photodiode shot noise are device- specific and have to be considered in the network system design. Nonlinear distortions (NLD) in a laser diode, such as laser clipping, can limit system performance. In order to get the best carrier to noise ratio (CNR) and carrier to interference (C/I) out of a laser diode, it is common practice in the cable industry to run the diode into a limited amount of clipping. Based on past research, there is a basic limit to the number of cable video channels and the depth of modulation that can be put on a laser diode before impairments distort the video to such an extent as to render it unacceptable. This project developed a laser diode clipping model that is used to determine and to simulate the clipping effect in a laser diode. The model will demonstrate the effects of clipping on cable networks.

Date Published: 4 November 1996
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 2917, Broadband Access Systems, (4 November 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.257336

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2917:
Broadband Access Systems
Wai Sum Lai; Indra Widjaja; Dennis Karvelas; Sam T. Jewell; Curtis A. Siller Jr.; Indra Widjaja; Dennis Karvelas, Editor(s)