Imbalanced Mach-Zehnder Modulator for Fading Suppression in Dispersion-Uncompensated Direct Detection System

In this work, we systematically analyze the impact of three kinds of Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) imbalances, including bias deviation, amplitude mismatch, and differential time skew in intensity-modulation direct-detection (IM-DD) links. It is shown that, for power fading limited transmission, the imbalances can be utilized as advantages rather than impairments. Specifically, the bias deviation with single-arm driven mode and amplitude mismatch with differential driven mode can increase the available bandwidth by shifting the frequency of fading notches. Meanwhile, time skew provides another way to avoid fading by shaping the double sideband (DSB) signal into a vestigial sideband (VSB) with an asymmetrical transfer function. In the transmission experiment, 34 Gbaud Nyquist 6/8-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM-6/8) signals are used for investigation in a 20 km dispersion-uncompensated standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) link. With the help of a Volterra nonlinear equalizer, all three kinds of imbalances can achieve bit-error rates (BERs) below the 7% and 20% hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) thresholds for PAM-6 and PAM-8 signals, respectively. The received power sensitivity is also compared at the back-to-back (BTB) case and after fiber transmission. Both numerical simulation and experimental demonstration confirm that the dispersion-induced power fading can be effectively suppressed with bias, amplitude, or skew imbalance, providing a feasible solution for transmission distance extension of C-band DD links.