80 Gbit/s OTDM using electroabsorption modulators

An 80 Gbit/s (8/spl times/10 Gbit/s) OTDM system, constructed entirely with electroabsorption modulators (EAM) as the active components, is presented. A tandem EAM pulse source with a simple dual frequency drive generates transform limited 4.5 ps pulses. At the receiver, the 10 Gbit/s channels are demultiplexed from 80 Gbit/s in a single step using a low polarisation sensitivity EAM. Error free operation with a sensitivity of -21.5 dBm is achieved.