Impact of error correction codes in the optical communication: case of fountain code

Abstract

— In this proposal, we examine the impact of the error correction codes in optical communication, and more specifically in the optical wired communication, using the optical fiber. This influence of error correction codes in the optical communication has already been studied but with classic error correction codes, with fixed rate, as Reed-Solomon, Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem codes (BCH), or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC ) codes . We propose here the use of another class of error correcting codes, called ‘‘rateless’’, namely fountain codes. Firstly, we show that the use of fountain codes in an optical transmission channel provides better performance compared to a case without coding, and this regardless of the level of noise in the channel. And secondly, we could also show that the use of fountain codes in this area, compared to a classic error correction code with fixed rate, as the LDPC code, provides better performance, in the case where the optical channel is very noisy.