Statistical analysis of optical signal-to-noise ratio monitoring using delay-tap sampling

We derive analytical expressions for the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) monitoring using delay-tap sampling for intensity-modulated direct-detection (IM/DD) systems. We demonstrate through our theoretical analysis and experimental results that modeling of noise correlation due to low-pass filtering between delay-tap samples enables accurate monitoring of OSNR, without recalibration for each system setup. Effects of chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization-mode dispersion on the proposed technique are investigated through numerical simulations. The monitoring error remains within 1 dB for CD up to 400 ps/nm and differential group delay up to 45 ps.