Experimental study of single channel 100 Gbit/s PAM4 transmission over 40 km using 17 GHz EML and APD at O band

Single channel 100 Gbit/s PAM4 transmission at O band is experimentally studied based on low cost intensity modulation and direct detection (IM-DD). By the use of advanced digital signal processing algorithms, we successfully achieve a receiver sensitivity of −17.3 dBm at 7% HD-FEC threshold of 3.8E-3 over 40 km un-amplified SSMF transmission with 17 GHz (3 dB bandwidth) commercial electric absorption modulated laser (EML) and avalanche photodiode (APD). To the best of author's knowledge, we hereby report the best receiver sensitivity for 100 Gbit/s/λ IM-DD system. Due to the low cost and high sensitivity merits, the proposed scheme will be a promising way for high speed short-haul optical transmissions in the future.