Comparison of the Jones Matrix Analytical Models Applied to Optical System Affected by High-Order PMD

Abstract—The analytical models for the Jones matrix of anoptical fiber affected by high-order polarization-mode dispersion(PMD) are studied in an original comparative analysis with thepurpose of finding a useful, precise, and stable tool for the systemperformance evaluation. First, a preliminary deterministic studyis done to explain how the conceptual difference among the modelsreflects onto their representation of the fiber PMD effects interms of Jones matrix coefficients and dispersion vector. Then, theanalytical models with PMD up to third order are exploited forthe calculation of the outage probability on the sensitivity penaltyat the receiver, and the results obtained are compared with thoseof the discrete random wave-plate numerical model, assumed as afaithful description of the real fiber. Two different approaches areused for the outage probability evaluation: an analytical method,which is precise and faster but can only be used with PMDparameters up to second order, and a semi-analytical methodthat allows a comparison of the numerical and analytical resultswith homogeneity, when the statistics of high-order PMD arenot known. The analytical model, which describes the dispersionvector as rotating on a circumference in the Stokes space, is foundto be the most accurate in the system performance computation.