100 Gbps IM/DD links using quad-polarization: Performance, complexity, and power dissipation

A computational complexity, power consumption, and receiver sensitivity analysis for three different scenarios for short-range direct detection links is presented: 1) quad-polarization, 2) wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and 3) parallel optics. Results show that the power consumption penalty associated to the quad-polarization digital signal processing (DSP) is negligibly small. However, the required analog to digital converters account for 47.6% of the total system power consumption. Transmission of 4x32 Gbps over 2 km standard single mode fiber is achieved with a receiver sensitivity of 4.4 dBm