Externally modulated CATV/ROF transport systems based on negative dispersion fiber

An externally modulated lightwave cable television (CATV)/radio-over-fiber (ROF) transport system based on negative dispersion fiber (NDF) as the transmission medium is proposed and demonstrated. Good performances of carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), composite second-order (CSO) and composite triple beat (CTB) were obtained for the CATV signals; low bit error rate (BER) and third-order intermodulation distortion to carrier ratio (IMD3/C) values were achieved for ROF applications. The negative dispersion property compensates the positive chirp and results in systems with better transmission performances.