64 x 0.5 Gbaud Nonlinear Frequency Division Multiplexed Transmissions with High Order Modulation Formats

Nonlinear frequency division multiplexing (NFDM) with the modulation of the nonlinear Fourier spectrum (both discrete and continuous parts), have been recently considered as a promising transmission method to combat fiber nonlinearity impairments. In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate the generation, detection and transmission performance of NFDM systems where the transmitted information is encoded directly onto the continuous part of the nonlinear Fourier spectrum using 64 overlapped 0.5 Gbaud channels with high order QAM formats (e. g. 16 QAM, 32 QAM and 64 QAM). In comparison with the conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmission, which is the linear counterpart of NFDM transmission, clear performance advantage of NFDM systems, up to 1.3 dB, have been observed. This result indicates for the first time the performance benefit of NFDM transmission over its linear counterpart, and thus, confirming the high potential of this emerging technology