Optical communication system transmitting and receiving optical subcarriers having different spectral widths and/or power values

An apparatus, comprising:

• a laser operable to supply an optical signal;
• a digital signal processor operable to receive at least one data stream and supply a plurality of digital signals based on said at least one data stream;
• digital to analog circuitry operable to provide a plurality of analog signals based on the plurality of digital signals;
• driver circuitry operable to supply a plurality of drive signal based on the analog signals;
• and
• a modulator operable to:
• receive the plurality of drive signals, and
• modulate the optical signal based on the plurality of drive signals to provide a plurality of optical subcarriers, such that:
• a first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a first center frequency, a first power at the first center frequency, the first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers is amplitude modulated based on control information,
• and a second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a second center frequency and a second power at the second center frequency, the first power being less than the second power, the second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers carrying information associated with user data, such that the second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers being modulated based on a first modulation and a second modulation, the first modulation being an m-QAM modulation, where m is an integer greater than 4 and the second modulation is an amplitude modulation.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a laser operable to supply an optical signal;
• a digital signal processor operable to receive at least one data stream and supply a plurality of digital signals based on said at least one data stream;
• digital to analog circuitry operable to provide a plurality of analog signals based on the plurality of digital signals;
• driver circuitry operable to supply a plurality of drive signal based on the analog signals;
• and
• a modulator operable to:
• receive the plurality of drive signals, and
• modulate the optical signal based on the plurality of drive signals to provide a plurality of optical subcarriers, such that:
• a first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a first center frequency, a first power at the first center frequency, the first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers is amplitude modulated based on first control information,
• a second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a second center frequency, a second power at the second center frequency, the second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers is amplitude modulated based on second control information, and
• and a third one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a third center frequency and a third power at the third center frequency, the first power and the second power being less than the third power, the second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers carrying information associated with user data, such that the third one of the plurality of optical subcarriers being modulated based on a first modulation and a second modulation, the first modulation being an m-QAM modulation, where m is an integer greater than 4 and the second modulation is an amplitude modulation.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a laser operable to supply an optical signal;
• a digital signal processor operable to receive at least one data stream and supply a plurality of digital signals based on said at least one data stream;
• digital to analog circuitry operable to provide a plurality of analog signals based on the plurality of digital signals;
• driver circuitry operable to supply a plurality of drive signal based on the analog signals;
• and
• a modulator operable to:
• receive the plurality of drive signals, and
• modulate the optical signal based on the plurality of drive signals to provide a plurality of optical subcarriers, such that a first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a first full width half maximum (FWHM), and a second one of the plurality of optical subcarriers has a second FWHM, which is less than the first FWHM, the first FWHM carrying control information, such that the first one of the plurality of optical subcarriers is modulated based on a first modulation and a second modulation, the first modulation being an m-QAM modulation, where m is an integer greater than 4 and the second modulation is an amplitude modulation.