Optical all-pass filters for polarization mode dispersion compensation

Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) compensation is addressed by decomposition of a fiber's Jones matrix into amplitude and phase responses, which are then compensated for separately. Cubic and higher-order phase compensation substantially reduce the cumulative probability at a given system penalty over first-order PMD compensation, as demonstrated for a 40-Gbit/s non-return-to-zero signal and a fiber PMD with a differential group delay of 20 ps (rms). Single-stage all-pass filters provide tunable compensation that is comparable to that obtained with a variable-delay line, and multistage all-pass filters are well suited for higher-order phase compensation. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America. OCIS codes: 260.2030, 060.4370, 060.2360, 350.5030, 060.2430.