OSNR monitoring technique based on cascaded long-period fiber grating with optically tunable phase shifter.

An optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) monitoring technique using a cascaded long-period fiber grating with a tunable phase shifter is proposed for non return-to-zero on-off-keying (NRZ-OOK) and differential phase shift keying (DPSK) signals. This method is based on two key points: first, the cascaded long period fiber grating (CLPG) acts as an optical delay interferometer (ODI) by Mach-Zehnder configuration consisting of the core and cladding modes inside the CLPG. Secondly, an optically tunable phase shifter using an Yb(3+) doped optical fiber (YDF) is inserted between the CLPG. The phase of the modulated signal propagating along the core mode of YDF is controlled by adjusting pumping power of 976-nm laser diode (LD). By combining the CLPG with the optically tunable phase shifter, the OSNR monitoring could be successfully executed.