Fiber-optic communication systems have revolutionized our telecommunication infrastructures – currently, almost all telephone land-line, cellular, and internet communications must travel via some form of optical fibers. In these transmission systems, neither the phase nor frequency of the optical signal carries information – only the intensity of the signal is used. To transmit more information in a single optical carrier, the phase of the optical carrier must be explored.

As a result, there is renewed interest in phase-modulated optical communications, mainly in direct-detection DPSK signals for long-haul optical communication systems. When optical amplifiers are used to maintain certain signal level among ... Read morethe fiber link, the system is limited by amplifier noises and fiber nonlinearities. Phase-Modulated Optical Communication Systems surveys this newly popular area, covering the following topics:

- The transmitter and receiver for phase-modulated coherent lightwave systems

- Method for performance analysis of phase-modulated optical signals

- Direct-detection DPSK signal with fiber nonlinearities, degraded by nonlinear phase noise and intrachannel effects

- Wavelength-division-multiplexed direct-detection DPSK signals

- Multi-level phase-modulated optical signals, such as the four-phase DQPSK signal.

Graduate students, professional engineers, and researchers will all benefit from this updated treatment of an important topic in the optical communications field.