System penalty from second-order PMD approximation: Reference frame implication

Abstract

In this paper, we show that second-order PMD approximations, when derived using the input frame and output frame of an optical link, result in two different PMD systems represented by two distinct Jones matrices. In contrast to an all-order representation of a system, which is independent of reference frame, it is found that a finite second-order approximation cannot be obtained simultaneously in both input and output reference frames, except in some limited special cases. The consequences of this are illustrated by analyzing the difference between these two approximations in pulsewidth distortion. It is shown that the second-order PMD approximation in the input frame corresponds to a trunca..