Systems and methods for skew detection and pre-compensation in a coherent optical system

A skew compensation system for an optical communication network, comprising:

• a transmitter modulator including (i) a first driver input configured to receive a first signal from a first channel, (ii) a second driver input configured to receive a second signal from a second channel, (iii) a source input configured to receive a continuous wave source signal, and (iv) a modulation output in operable communication with an optical transport medium of the optical communication network;
• a first tunable delay line disposed between the second channel and the second driver input, and configured to insert a pre-determined training sequence onto the second signal prior to the second driver input;
• a sampling unit disposed (i) between the first channel and the first driver input, and (ii) between the second channel and the first tunable delay line;
• and
• a processor configured to (i) determine a first skew amount between the second signal at the second driver input and the first signal at the first driver input, (ii) calculate a first pre-compensation value corresponding to the first skew amount, and (iii) minimize the first skew amount at the modulation output according to the first pre-compensation value.