Optical Transceiver Using Duplex Media, Self-Homodyne Detection (SHD), Coherent Detection, and Uncooled Laser

An optical transceiver comprising:

• a laser configured to provide an input light;
• a splitter coupled to the laser and configured to split the input light into a first local oscillator (LO) optical signal and a first unmodulated optical signal;
• a modulator coupled to the splitter and configured to modulate the first unmodulated optical signal to produce a first modulated optical signal;
• an LO port configured to:
• couple to a first duplex fiber;
• and
• transmit the first LO optical signal to the first duplex fiber;
• and
• a signal port configured to:
• couple to a second duplex fiber;
• and
• transmit the first modulated optical signal to the second duplex fiber.

A method comprising:

• emitting an input light;
• splitting the input light into a first local oscillator (LO) optical signal and a first unmodulated optical signal;
• modulating the first unmodulated optical signal using polarization-multiplexed, high-order modulation to produce a first modulated optical signal;
• transmitting the first LO optical signal to a first duplex fiber;
• and
• transmitting the first modulated optical signal to a second duplex fiber.