Nonlinear Distortion due to XPM in Dispersive WDM Microwave Fiber-Optic Links With Optical SSB Modulation

A new analytical model is presented to analyze the nonlinear distortion due to cross-phase modulation (XPM) in dispersive wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) microwave fiber-optic links with optical single sideband (OSSB) modulation. Both numerical simulations and experiments confirm that the analytical model overcomes the shortcomings of previous published analytical models and enables us to predict the nonlinear distortion due to XPM for a practical system with adequate accuracy, even when the modulating microwave frequency is tens of GHz and fiber length is tens of kilometers. Based on our model, some useful physical insights are revealed and a simple approximation is developed for quick estimation of the crosstalk between WDM channels, enabling us to evaluate the performance of a system quickly.