Design of high-bit-rate coherent communication links

We report an analysis of the problems encountered in the design of modern high-bit-rate coherent communication links. A phenomenological communication link model is described, which is suitable for solving applied tasks of the network design with nonlinear effects taken into account. We propose an engineering approach to the design that is based on the use of fundamental nonlinearity coefficients calculated in advance for the experimental configurations of communication links. An experimental method is presented for calculating the nonlinearity coefficient of communication links. It is shown that the proposed approach allows one to successfully meet the challenges in designing communication networks.