Accumulation of cross-channel non-linear interference in dispersion-managed and disaggregated optical network segment

Abstract: We evaluate the generation of the cross-channel interference (XCI) for coherent transmission through a variety of dispersion-managed segments in a disaggregated optical network framework, using split-step Fourier method (SSFM) simulations and an implementation of the Gaussian noise (GN) model. We observe that the small inline residual dispersion remaining after each span affects the accumulation of the XCI, causing GN model predictions to no longer be conservative. We find an asymptotic upper bound to this additional accumulation, providing a worst-case prediction, and observe that this depends upon the residual dispersion within the link. This upper bound scales similarly to the self-channel interference (SCI) accumulation, and is well characterized by the parameters of the underlying fiber spans and the transmitted signals.