Maximizing Spectral Efficiency with Optical Engine and Line System Innovations

One of the vectors along which coherent optical engine technology is evolving is performance, and spectral efficiency is a key performance criterion for submarine and long-haul networks as well as fiber-constrained, high-bandwidth metros. This white paper focuses on why spectral efficiency matters, how the relationship between wavelength capacity-reach and spectral efficiency has changed, the three key factors that determine spectral efficiency, and how optical engine and line system innovations can optimize these three factors.