Bit-error rate of optical DPSK in fiber systems by multicanonical Monte Carlo Simulations

The multicanonical Monte Carlo simulation method is applied to phase-modulated optical communications systems. The method is used to estimate the bit-error rate of long-haul differential phase-shift-keying transmission. The simulation results are in good agreement with the predictions of a previously reported theoretical model. Furthermore, the simulations imply that the phase noise, that determines the error rate, can be approximated as Gaussian for many practical cases.