Coherent Optical CDMA with low MAI

A novel coherent optical code division multiple access (OCDMA) network based on phase and polarization diversity balanced reception of spectrally encoded optical pulses is proposed. Spectral efficiencies of 1 bps/Hz and beyond can be achieved by minimizing multiple access interference (MAI) and by cancelling beat noise. While the system achieves full capacity under bit synchronism, it also offers competitive performance at up to 25% of full capacity, even when completely asynchronous. Tree and ring network configurations can assure synchronization, making the proposed system robust in the presence of dispersion and phase noise.