Working at the limit of optical transmission performance

• Expect to see new optical transmission records at the upcoming ECOC 2023 conference. 
• Keysight Technologies' chart plots the record-setting optical transmission systems of recent years.
• The chart reveals optical transmission performance issues and the importance of the high-speed converters between the analogue and digital domains for test equipment and, by implication, for coherent digital signal processors (DSPs).

Graphic explanation

Shown is the net bit rate plotted against the baud rate. Also shown are lines with the number of bits per symbol. These are not the bit resolution of the DAC but the bits for both polarisations. For example, 14bit/symbol refers to 7-bit per polarisation. The DACs making up the transmission systems plotted are either 6-bit or 8-bit. Source: Keysight

Engineers keep advancing optical systems to send more data across an optical fibre.

It requires advances in optical and electronic components that can process faster, higher-bandwidth signals, and that includes the most essential electronics part of all: the coherent DSP chip. 

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