Impact of the Switching Window Shape on the Performance of a Chain of Reamplification, Reshaping, and Retiming All-Optical Regenerators Based on a Non-Linear Gate

The impact of the switching window shape on the performance of a chain of reamplification, reshaping, and retiming all-optical regenerators based on a non-linear gate is investigated numerically. A method to estimate the chain performance that considers the amplitude fluctuations due to timing jitter and noise redistribution along the chain is proposed. The results show that the rectangular switching window is not appropriate for reamplification, reshaping, and retiming regenerators, and the optimum shape of the switching window depends on the number of regenerators of the chain, optical noise power, and timing jitter levels.