10-Gb/s optical DPSK packet receiver proof against large power fluctuations

Optical differential phase-shift keying direct detection (ODPSK-DD) with balanced receivers has the potential to offer large tolerance to signal-power fluctuations because the threshold voltage for signal regeneration is independent of the input power. This letter demonstrates 10-Gb/s packet reception by employing differential detection with an ODPSK-DD receiving set; packet by packet power fluctuation is 10 dB, and the packet spacing is 3.2 ns.