Transmission quality and performance of ILL repeaters used in optical FSK communications

The use of injection-locked laser diodes as nonregenerative repeaters for optical frequency-shift keying (FSK) transmission systems is considered, with emphasis being placed on potential impairments which may limit performance. Nonlinear phase distortion associated with the amplification of FSK signals by injection-locked lasers (ILLs) is considered, as are the effects of intensity fluctuations on the locking bandwidth, the influence pf laser phase noise, ILL frequency stability requirements, and the number of repeaters that can be cascaded before loss of lock occurs. How these factors combine to influence overall system performance is also examined.< >