Polarization multiplexing transmitter and transmission system

Abstract

A polarization multiplexing transmitter which generates polarization-multiplexed signals which are arbitrarily polarization-scrambled at high speed, without adding a polarization modulator and a polarization scrambler. In the transmitter, an orthogonally polarized signal generator includes two optical modulators which modulate the electric fields of optical signals and generate two optical signals with mutually orthogonal polarized waves. The transmitter includes electric field mappers which convert two data strings into electric field signals, polarization mappers which give different polarized waves to the two signals, polarization rotators which rotate the polarized waves of the signals uniformly, a polarization multiplexer which multiplexes the two polarization-rotated signals, a polarization demultiplexer which demultiplexes the multiplexed signal into polarized wave components of optical signals generated by the orthogonally polarized signal generator, and a driver. The optical modulators are driven to make the two demultiplexed electric field signals consistent with the electric fields of optical signals modulated by the modulators.