Method and apparatus for improving transmission performance over wavelength division multiplexed optical communication links using forward error correction coding

A data transmission system, comprising:

• an optical link;
• an optical transmitter coupled to the optical link, said optical transmitter being operative to receive an information signal from a data source and to transmit said information signal over said optical link;
• an optical receiver coupled to the optical link, said optical receiver being operative to receive said information signal from said optical link and to provide said received information signal to a data sink, said optical receiver having reception characteristics that are variable in response to bit error rate information provided as input to said optical receiver;
• and
• a bit error rate estimator coupled to said optical, receiver, said bit error rate estimator being operative in response to said received information signal to estimate the bit error rate of said received information signal and to provide said bit error rate information to said optical receiver based on the estimated bit error rate.

A data transmission system, comprising:

• an optical link;
• an optical transmitter coupled to the optical link, said optical transmitter being operative to receive an information signal from a data source and to transmit said information signal over said optical link, said optical transmitter controlling a polarization state of the information signal in response to bit error rate information provided as input to said optical transmitter;
• an optical receiver coupled to the optical link, said optical receiver being operative to receive said information signal from said optical link to provide said received information signal to a data sink;
• and
• a bit error rate estimator coupled to said optical receiver and to said optical transmitter, said bit error rate estimator being operative in response to said received information signal to estimate the bit error rate of said received information signal and to provide said bit error rate information to said optical transmitter based on the estimated bit error rate.

A data transmission system, comprising:

• an optical link;
• an optical transmitter coupled to the optical link, said optical transmitter being operative to receive an information signal from a data source and to transmit said information signal over said optical link;
• an optical receiver coupled to the optical link, said optical receiver being operative to receive said information signal from said optical link and to provide said received information signal to a data sink;
• optical components within said optical link, said optical components having transmission characteristics that are variable in response to bit error rate information provided as input to said optical components;
• and
• a bit error rate estimator coupled to said optical receiver and to said optical components in said optical link, said bit error rate estimator being operative in response to said received information signal to estimate the bit error rate of said received information signal and to provide said bit error rate information to said optical components in said optical link based on the estimated bit error rate.

A wavelength division multiplexed optical transmission system, comprising:

• a network having at least one optical amplifier driving at least one optical fiber;
• a first data source operative to provide a first information signal at a first information rate;
• a first optical transmitter coupled to said first data source and operative to transmit said first information signal over said network at a first wavelength and at a first optical power through said at least one optical fiber;
• a second data source operative to provide a second information signal at a second information rate at least two times greater than said first information rate;
• demultiplexer and forward error correction coder apparatus coupled to the output of said second data source and operative to generate a plurality of lower-rate signals collectively constituting an encoded representation of said second information signal;
• a plurality of second optical transmitters coupled to the demultiplexer and forward error correction coder apparatus, said second optical transmitters being collectively operative to transmit said lower-rate signals over said network at a corresponding plurality of wavelengths grouped around a second wavelength and substantially more closely spaced than the spacing between said first and second wavelengths, each of said second transmitters being operative to transmit the corresponding lower-rate signal through said at least one optical fiber at a respective optical power;
• wherein said first and second transmitters are operative to transmit at respective optical power levels such that through said at least one fiber the collective optical power of said lower-rate signals is substantially equal to the first optical power.

A wavelength division multiplexed optical transmission system, comprising:

• an optical link having the characteristic that optical signals of different wavelengths experience fading under different conditions, such that the likelihood of more than one of the optical signals experiencing fading simultaneously is substantially less than the likelihood of any one of the optical signals experiencing fading at a given time;
• a forward error correction encoder at one end of the optical link, the forward error correction encoder being operative to form multi-bit codewords including bits from multiple data sources;
• a plurality of optical transmitters, each optical transmitter being operative to transmit a respective set of bits of the codewords generated by the forward error correction coder as a respective one of the optical signals on the optical link;
• a plurality of optical receivers, each optical receiver being operative to receive a respective one of the optical signals from the optical link;
• and
• a forward error correction decoder at the other end of the optical link, the forward error correction decoder being operative to (i) form received codewords including respective sets of bits from the optical receivers, (ii) decode the formed codewords into decoded symbols, and (iii) provide respective sets of bits of the decoded symbols to respective ones of multiple data sinks.

A wavelength division multiplexed optical transmission system, comprising:

• a network having at least one optical amplifier driving at least one optical fiber;
• a first data source operative to provide a first information signal at a first information rate;
• a forward error correction coder coupled to the output of said first data source and operative to produce an encoded representation of said first information signal;
• a first optical transmitter coupled to said forward error correction coder and operative to transmit said encoded representation of said first information signal over said network at a first wavelength and at a first optical power through said at least one optical fiber;
• a second data source operative to provide a second information signal at a second information rate at least two times greater than said first information rate;
• a second optical transmitter coupled to said second data source and operative to transmit said second information signal over said network at a second wavelength and at a second optical power through said at least one optical fiber;
• wherein said first and second transmitters are operative to transmit at respective optical power levels such that said first optical power through said at least one fiber is less than half said second optical power through said at least one fiber.