Optical post-equalization based on self-imaging

Optical fibre transmission systems operate in the presence of inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization-mode dispersion (PMD), and other impairments. As the transmission rate increases, ISI mitigation becomes mandatory. Many schemes for dispersion compensation have been proposed. We present and discuss a new optical method for post-compensating the chromatic dispersion in a particular dispersive medium, namely the single mode fibre. This method is based on the self-imaging phenomenon known as the temporal Talbot effect. The main advantage of our method results in using standard optical fibres instead of special fibres. We also have all freedom in subdividing and processing sequences of the dispersed optical signal.