Bit-pattern-dependent polarization rotation in first-order PMD-compensated WDM systems

We demonstrate both numerically and experimentally that the phase-change due to fiber nonlinearities induces a bit-pattern-dependent rotation of the state-of-polarization which translates to uncertainty in the principal states of polarization. This effect severely limits the performance of the first-order PMD post-compensation and suggests the use of in-line compensators. Our simulation shows that fiber nonlinearities cause significant distortion (more than 4-dBm Q-penalty after 600-km transmission at 10 Gbit/s) after first-order PMD compensation. For optical powers as low as 3 dBm/channel in systems where PMD is not uniformly distributed along the transmission link, first-order PMD compensation may be ineffective.