PDM-QPSK: on the system benefits arising from temporally interleaving polarization tributaries at 100Gb/s

We experimentally study, over a dispersion-managed link relying on low chromatic dispersion fibre, the origins of the system benefits provided by temporally interleaving the polarization tributaries of 100Gb/s coherent RZ-PDM-QPSK by half a symbol period. Hence, we demonstrate that the amount of benefits provided by this technique is dependent on the configuration of the WDM transmission system. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America