Optik 164 (2018) 335–344

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Optik
journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/ijleo

Original research article

Dispersion compensation in a 24 × 20 Gbps DWDM system by

cascaded chirped FBGs
Chiranjit Ghosh ∗ , Vishnu Priye
Department of Electronics Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826004, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A dispersion compensation scheme using the minimum number of cascaded fibre Bragg
Received 25 June 2017 gratings (FBGs) is proposed for the transmission of 20 Gbps signal in 24 Wavelength Divi-
Accepted 10 March 2018 sion Multiplexed (WDM) channels with a 0.4 nm channel spacing. The present work shows
that four chirped FBGs (CFBGs) in cascade are sufficient to compensate the dispersion accu-
Keywords: mulated over 100 km of conventional fibre. The parameters of the CFBGs are optimized
Dispersion compensation to obtain maximum quality factor for all the channels. The proposed setup is effective for
Chirped fibre Bragg gratings
simultaneous dispersion compensation in a WDM transmission system.
Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
© 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Channel spacing

1. Introduction

In recent years, the field of information technology has witnessed massive development. Consequently, a considerable
amount of research has been conducted to develop optical communication networks with higher speeds and larger capaci-
ties. The most efficient technique for ensuring the increased information carrying capacity of an optical fibre system is the
Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM), which enables the simultaneous transmission of multiple signals with different
wavelengths. There is a need to develop larger WDM networks with narrower channel spacing and or higher channel data
rate [1]. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has standardized the channel frequencies of WDM systems on
a 100 GHz grid in the frequency range of 186–196 THz (wavelength range: 1530–1612 nm) [1]. Thus, in most commercial
WDM systems, the channel spacing is 100GHz (0.8 nm at 1552 nm). WDM channels with a frequency spacing of 50 GHz are
currently under investigation [2]. The performance of optical communication systems is limited by dispersion, attenuation
and nonlinear effects. In high data rate communication systems, a major challenge is dispersion compensation [2]. In a Dense
Wavelength Division Multiplexed (DWDM) system, the dispersion and dispersion slope of each channel are different; there-
fore, effective dispersion compensation techniques should simultaneously compensate the dispersion of all channels. Among
different dispersion compensation techniques, two methods are notably useful: one is based on dispersion compensating
fibres (DCFs) [3], and the other is based on chirped fibre Bragg gratings (CFBGs) [4,5]. CFBGs are an effective solution for
dispersion compensation in dense, high bit rate WDM systems. The dispersion compensation achieved using FBGs is based
on the introduction of wavelength-specific time delays using precisely chirped and apodized FBGs [5,6]. The size, potential
cost, high figure of merit, ability to compensate for higher-order dispersions, low insertion loss and absence of nonlinear
effects [4] are features that increase the attractiveness of CFBGs compared with DCFs [7].
The development of 10 Gbps transmission systems based on CFBGs has been reported [2,8]. Kaler et al. [9] investigated
the dispersion compensation methods for 10 Gbps NRZ links using standard fibres and DCFs. Mohammad et al. [10] evaluated

∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: chiranjit9119@gmail.com (C. Ghosh), vish.ism99@gmail.com (V. Priye).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2018.03.037
0030-4026/© 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
336 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344

dispersion compensation in a single channel 10 Gbps optical system with CFBG over a 100 km fibre link. For WDM signals
several cascaded chirped gratings in series can be used, such that each grating reflects one channel [2,8] and compensates
for its dispersion. However it needs many phase masks and the package cost is high if the number of channels is large.
Alternatively in [11] a wideband dispersion compensating CFBG unit was designed to have a FWHM of 35 nm with length
of 15 cm. This length delivers a dispersion of −33.6 ps/nm which implies that it can compensate dispersion of only 2 km of
standard SMF cable (considering the dispersion of the SMF cable is 17 ps/nm/km). So a compromise has to be made between
maximum compensated fibre link length and the number of CFBGs used.
In this paper, a dispersion compensation scheme is proposed that uses a cascade of four CFBGs of optimum length. The
CFBGs can simultaneously compensate the dispersion of 24 WDM channels with a channel spacing of 0.4 nm transmitted
over a 100 km single-mode fibre at a data rate of 20 Gbps. This scheme has not been reported in the literature to the best of our
knowledge, and it represents an efficient and cost-effective method of dispersion compensation in optical communication
links.

2. Theory of FBG dispersion compensation

In a CFBG different frequency components of an incident optical pulse are reflected at different points depending on
where the Bragg condition (B = 2n̄) is locally satisfied [5,12]. For a grating of length Lg and chirped bandwidth chirp ,
the chirp in the period is as follows [5]:

chirp = 2neff (L − S ) = 2neff chirp (1)

where chirp is the difference between the longest (L ) and shortest ( S ) grating period.
The basic equation for the optical pulse transmission in single mode fibre can be written as [1]

∂A ∂ A i d2 A
+ ˇ1 + ˇ2 2 = 0 (2)
∂z ∂t 2 dt

Where A is the pulse envelope amplitude,

∂ˇ
ˇ1 = , ˇ is mode propagation of optical fibre.
∂ω
2
∂ ˇ
ˇ2 = is the parameter of the second order dispersion of the fibre (GVD parameter). Higher order dispersion component
∂ω2
and attenuation of optical signal amplitude has been neglected.
Taking Fourier transform of Eq. (2) converts the time domain to frequency domain

dĀ (z, ω) iˇ2 ω2

− iˇ1 ωĀ (z, ω) − Ā (z, ω) = 0
dz 2
 
dĀ (z, ω) ˇ2 ω (3)
− iω ˇ1 + Ā (z, ω) = 0
dz 2

dĀ (z, ω)
or + BĀ (z, ω) = 0
dz
 
ˇ2 ω
where B = −iω ˇ1 + 2
Integrating Eq. (3) we have

Ā (z, ω) = Ā (0, ω) e−Bz

Where Ā (0, ω) is the Fourier transform of A (0, t)

Taking inverse Fourier transform


−∞
1
A (z, t) = Ā (0, ω) e−Bz e−iωt dω
2
∞

−∞   
1 ˇ2 ω
= Ā (0, ω) exp iω ˇ1 + z × e−iωt dω (4)
2 2
∞
−∞   
1 iω2 ˇ2 z
= Ā (0, ω) exp iωˇ1 z + − iωt dω
2 2
∞
 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344 337

ˇ zω2
As the pulse propagates down the fibre, different phase shifts (ϕ = 2 2 ) will be acquired by different spectral compo-
nents and creates dispersion induced degradation of the signals. The input signal can be restored if this phase shift can be
cancelled. If the optical pulse propagates through the SMF & CFBG, the pulse envelope amplitude A (z, t) can be written as


−∞  
1 iω2 g
A (z, t) = Ā (0, ω) exp ˇ2 z1 + ˇ2 z2 − iωt dω (5)
2 2
∞

g
Where ˇ2 and ˇ2 are the GVD parameter of SMF and the CFBG respectively.
We neglect ˇ1 term because it has no influence on distortion of the signal parameter. Dispersion of the fibre can be
reduced by proper design of the CFBG such that
g
ˇ2 z1 + ˇ2 z2 = 0 or (6)

D2 z1 + Dg z2 = 0 (7)

In the dispersion compensation schemes attempts are made to cancel the phase shift so that the input signal can be
restored.
The grating induced GVD parameter of a uniform FBG is given by [13]
 2
g d2 q 1 d2 q
ˇ2 = =
dω2 vg dı2

where, vg is the group velocity, ı is a measure of detuning from the Bragg frequency,
q=± ı2 − 2, is the coupling coefficient.

1
dq −
= ±ı ı2 − 2 2
dı
⎡ ⎤
d2 q ⎢ − 2 ⎥
= ±⎢ ⎥
dı2 ⎣ 3 ⎦ (8)
−
ı2 − 2 2
⎡ ⎤ ⎡ 2
⎤
sgn ı
1 ⎢ − 2 ⎥ ⎢ v2g ⎥
g
∴ ˇ2 = ± ⎢ ⎥ = −⎢ ⎥
v2g ⎣ −
3 ⎦ ⎣
−
3 ⎦
ı2 − 2 2 ı2 − 2 2

In a CFBG the optical period n̄ of the grating changes along the fibre length. For a linearly chirped FBG two grating
parameters and ı becomes z dependent. Chirping can be induced either by varying the physical grating period  or by
changing the effective mode index n̄ along z.
For chirped apodized grating [14]

 1 dϕ
ı (z) =  + (z) − (9)
0 2 dz

(z) =  h0 f (z) where h0 is the peak refractive index modulation, f (z) is the apodization profile, 0 is the reference
0
Bragg period.
(z) = background refractive index variation
 = wave number detuning from the reference wave number  = n0 k0 −  (where n0 is the fibre refractive index and
0 0
0 is the reference Bragg wave vector. ϕ (z) is the grating phase.
The rate of change of delay ()with wavelength is used to determine the dispersion. In CFBG different wavelengths are
reflected from different parts of the grating and are delayed by different amounts of time. This property makes CFBG useful
in dispersion compensation. The reflection from a chirped grating is a function of wavelength. The time delay of reflecting
back the wavelength in the range of s to L is the function of the wavelength and is given by [10]

 − s 2neff Lg
() = (S ≤  ≤ L )
L − s c
(10)
 − S 2neff Lg
=
chirp c
338 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of FBG dispersion compensator.

For a linear CFBG, the chirped period [10] is as follows:

z − Lg /2
 (z) = 0 −    0 (11)
Lg

where 0 is the period at the middle of the grating and  is total chirp.

3. Apodization profile

The apodization function plays an important role in the behaviour of the mean dispersion, group delay and degree of
reduction of the side-lobe level in the reflection spectrum [6]. This design technique is essential for generating uniform FBG or
CFBGs that are suitable for effective optical signal processing applications, including dispersion compensation. A hyperbolic
tangent profile with a wide flat region at the centre and a non-abrupt decaying slope results in superior performance
compared with other profiles because it has broader reflectivity and provides highly linearized time delay characteristics,
which results in longer compensated fibre links with minimum transmission penalties [10,11,14,15].
The tanh profile throughout this work is as follows [10]:
     s
z z
A (z) = tanh s. tanh s 1− + 1 − tanh2 (12)
Lg Lg 2

where s is the apodization strength.

Fig. 2. Apodization profile of the proposed CFBG.

 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344 339

Fig. 3. Refractive index profile of the proposed CFBG.

Fig. 4. Reflectivity and group delay of the first CFBG.

Fig. 5. (a): Block diagram of dispersion compensation in a 24 × 20 Gbps DWDM system using CFBGs. (b): Transmitter section. (c): Receiver section.
340 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344

4. Simulation setup

4.1. Optimization of the FBG dispersion compensator

In this work, four linearly chirped gratings with a chirp parameter of 0.001 ␮m are cascaded to achieve dispersion com-
pensation over a wavelength range of 1552–1561.2 nm. The schematic diagram of the FBG dispersion compensator is shown
in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6. Variation of Q factor with channel number for different grating lengths.

Fig. 7. (a): Optical spectrum of reflected signal of 1st fbg. (b): Optical spectrum of reflected signal of 2nd fbg. (c): Optical spectrum of reflected signal of
3rd fbg. (d): Optical spectrum of reflected signal of 4th fbg.
 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344 341

The effective index of the grating is set to 1.45, and an ac modulation index of 1 × 10−4 is used. The optimal values for the
chirp parameter, apodization function and grating length have been investigated to optimize the performance of the CFBG
in the WDM transmission system. The tanh apodization profile of apodization strength s = 6 is judicially selected to have the
optimal bandwidth, maximum dispersion compensation and minimum group delay ripple (1.532 ps). The Fig. 2 shows the
apodization profile of the proposed CFBG. The refractive index profile of the proposed CFBG design is shown in the Fig. 3.
Each CFBG has been modelled to reflect six channels with a spacing of 0.4 nm and compensate for the dispersion of
the respective channels. Four apodized chirped gratings are used to reflect and thereby compensate the dispersion of 24
channels. The first, second, third and fourth CFBGs reflect signals of 1552–1554 nm, 1554.4–1556.4 nm, 1556.8–1558.8 nm,
and 1559.2–1561.2 nm, respectively. Fig. 4 shows the reflectivity and group delay of the first CFBG whose center wavelength
is 1553 nm. The group delay ripple is 1.532 ps.

4.2. Dispersion compensation using cascaded CFBGs

A scheme using only four cascaded CFBGs operating in the reflective mode is proposed for achieving dispersion compen-
sation for a 24 × 20 Gbps WDM system with 0.4 nm channel spacing. The simulation setup for dispersion compensation
is depicted in Fig. 5(a). In this model, 24 channels are generated at the transmitter to cover the wavelength range of
1552–1561.2 nm with a channel spacing of 0.4 nm and each channel operating at 20 Gbps. The transmitter section (shown
in Fig. 5(b)) is composed of a bit sequence generator, an optical source (CW Laser) and an optical Mach Zehnder modu-
lator (MZM). The input power of the laser source is set to 0 dBm per channel, and the nonlinear refractive index (n2 ) is
2.6 × 10−20 m2 /W. Following the bit sequence generator, which generates a PRBS of 215 -1, the electric pulse generator gen-
erates a binary sequence of data that is used to modulate the optical signal from the CW Laser by the MZM. In this case, the
NRZ-type modulation [16] is used. After the modulation, the output from the WDM channels is multiplexed in the downlink

Fig. 8. Eye diagrams for 20 Gbps data after 100 km transmission: (a, c, e, g) after dispersion compensation by chirped FBG (b, d, f, h) without dispersion
compensation.
342 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344

Fig. 8. (Continued)

path to propagate through a 100 km long single-mode fibre (SMF) at 0.2 dB/km signal attenuation and 16.75 ps/nm/km dis-
persion. Next, an optical amplifier with a gain of 20 dB is used to amplify the optical power of the WDM channels at the end
of the SMF. The output of the optical amplifier is connected to the dispersion compensation unit, which consisted of four
CFBGs in cascades. The dispersion-compensated signals are sent to the demultiplexer. The output optical signals from the
demultiplexer are received by the optical receiver section in Fig. 5(c), which consists of a pin photodetector (PD) followed
by a low-pass filter (LPF) and a 3R Regenerator. The signal is detected by the PIN photo detector, filtered and applied to the
3R Regenerator. The 3R Regenerator generates the electrical signal, original bit sequence and modulated electrical signals,
which are used for the BER analyzer. The output signals are analysed using a BER analyzer, and the results, such as the eye
diagram, Q value and bit error rate, are displayed.

5. Results and discussion

The performance in terms of quality factor of the proposed CFBG in WDM transmission system with different grating
lengths is shown in Fig. 6. The figure shows the variation of Q factor of the channels for different grating lengths. In the
proposed model an optimum grating length of 500 mm each with a maximum quality factor is obtained for all channels.
The reflected optical spectrum from each CFBG is shown in Fig. 7. The first, second, third and fourth CFBGs reflect signals
of 1552–1554 nm, 1554.4–1556.4 nm, 1556.8–1558.8 nm, and 1559.2–1561.2 nm, respectively.
The results obtained for the 24 × 20 Gbps dispersion-compensated WDM system are used to evaluate the bit error rate
and Q parameter for transmissions through 100 km of conventional fibre.
Fig. 8(a, c, e, g) shows four representative eye diagrams (chs. 4, 10, 15 and 21) for the data transmitted by the output
channels, and the results demonstrate uniform dispersion compensation across the grating bandwidth and show that the eye
shape has a small dependence on the channel wavelength. The dispersion compensation for all channels is approximately
identical, and the eye diagrams indicate that the dispersion has been reduced substantially. A representative eye diagram of
 C. Ghosh, V. Priye / Optik 164 (2018) 335–344 343

Table 1
Performance parameters measured from eye diagrams of Fig. 8.

Channel Numbers Eye height Q factor

1 0.0003085 10.4394
2 0.0004304 10.9379
3 0.0004518 10.7401
4 0.0004458 10.7457
5 0.0004278 10.9526
6 0.0003177 11.4053
7 0.0003099 11.0633
8 0.0004356 11.6730
9 0.0004361 10.097
10 0.0004487 10.7223
11 0.0004170 10.0017
12 0.0003149 10.2217
13 0.0003835 10.3403
14 0.0004327 10.8257
15 0.0004556 11.3433
16 0.0004305 10.0808
17 0.0004468 11.9575
18 0.0003893 10.5108
19 0.0002905 10.071
20 0.0004158 10.1126
21 0.0004374 10.2678
22 0.0004241 10.5483
23 0.0004430 11.5596
24 0.0002994 10.0653

the fibre output without dispersion compensation for the four channels (4, 10, 15, 21) is shown in Fig. 8(b, d, f, h). The eye
closes because the optical signals are considerably distorted via propagation through the fibre.
The eye opening, eye closure, BER and Q factor can be obtained from this eye diagram. The measured eye height and
related parameters are shown in Table 1.
With the introduction of CFBGs as the dispersion compensator, the eye opens well and has high values at all channels
and minimal distortions as shown in Table 1. The channel performance is evaluated via the Q factor analysis. The Q values
for the different channels of the dispersion-compensated transmission system for optimized grating length of 500 mm is
shown in Fig. 6. The Q values show little variation among the channel numbers.
The observed Q values of all 24 channels are greater than or equal to 10 (BER of less than or equal to 10−23 ) for a coverage
distance of 100 km. After compensation, an average Q factor of 10.69 was obtained for all 24 channels. An optical system
with a Q factor greater than or equal to 6.8 [17] is suitable for communication purposes. The results show that the proposed
setup is effective for simultaneous dispersion compensation in a WDM transmission system using a minimum number of
CFBGs.

6. Conclusions

The performance of CFBGs is investigated to determine their capacity for dispersion compensation in a 24 × 20 Gbps
DWDM system with 0.4 nm channel spacing over a transmission distance of 100 km through a conventional fibre with
an NRZ modulation format. The results demonstrate that remarkable dispersion compensation performance was achieved
for all channels using a cascade of only four linearly chirped hyperbolic tangent apodized FBGs with an optimized length,
apodization strength and chirp parameter.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Funding

This work was funded by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY), Government of India under
the Visvesvaraya PhD scheme for Electronics & IT.

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