All-optical wavelength conversion of a 100-Gb/s polarization-multiplexed signal

We present the results of an in-depth experimental investigation about all-optical wavelength conversion of a 100-Gb/s polarization-multiplexed (POLMUX) signal. Each polarization channel is modulated at 25 Gbaud by differential quadrature phase-shift keying (DQPSK). The conversion is realized exploiting the high nonlinear χ(2) coefficient of a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide, in a polarization-independent configuration. We find that slight nonidealities in the polarization independent setup of the wavelength converter can significantly impair the performance of POLMUX systems. We show that high-quality wavelength conversion can be nevertheless achieved for both the polarization channels, provided that an accurate optimization of the setup is performed. This is the first demonstration, to the best of our knowledge, of the possibility to obtain penalty-free all-optical wavelength conversion in a 100-Gb/s POLMUX transmission system using direct-detection.