Systems and methods for the mitigation of polarization mode dispersion impairments in fiber optic links

A system for mitigating polarization mode dispersion impairments in fiber optic links, comprising:

• a processor connected to a plurality of polarization controllers and to a plurality of receivers, wherein a clock associated with each of the processor, the plurality of polarization controllers, and the plurality of receivers is synchronized;
• wherein the processor is configured to:
• receive data regarding pre-corrected FEC errors at one of the plurality of optical receivers;
• identify a time and polarization states on each of the plurality of polarization controllers corresponding to the data;
• and
• provide feedback to each of the plurality of polarization controllers responsive to the polarization states corresponding to the pre-corrected FEC errors.

A network which includes mitigation of polarization mode dispersion impairments in fiber optic links, comprising:

• two or more nodes interconnected with a plurality of fiber optic links, wherein each of the two or more nodes comprises at least one optical receiver configured to detect pre-corrected FEC errors;
• at least one polarization controller on one of the plurality of fiber optic links, wherein a clock in the at least one polarization controller is synchronized to a clock in the at least one optical receiver at each of the two or more nodes;
• and
• a processor configured to correlate detected pre-corrected FEC errors at each of the at least one optical receiver at each of the two or more nodes to polarization states of the at least one polarization controller, wherein the processor communicates to the at least one polarization controller, and wherein the at least one polarization controller is dynamically adjusted avoiding identified polarization states with the worst-case detected pre-corrected FEC errors.