Discretized Gaussian model for nonlinear noise in elastic optical networks

A discrete nonlinear noise model based on the well-known Gaussian noise model is introduced for nonlinear noise in dispersion uncompensated fiber-optical links of elastic optical networks (EON). This model is used to calculate the nonlinear noise power of EONs links, consisting of channels with arbitrary transmit powers, central frequencies and bandwidths. The proposed model boils down to a low complexity model for fixed-grid wavelength division multiplex networks. The numerical results show higher precision of the proposed model compared to the previously proposed low complexity models. The proposed model formulation is up to 0.5 dB more accurate in computing the nonlinear noise power spectral density or equivalently up to 15 dB more accurate in calculating the nonlinear noise power for a typical optical link containing channels with a bandwidth of 28 GHz at 100 GHz channel spacing. This improvement in accuracy is achieved at the expense of adding computational complexity. Being more precise and providing more clear insight of nonlinear noise behavior respect to channel parameters changes, this model is a great help in network planing problems like power allocation, routing, and spectrum assignment and opens a new horizon for proposing and evaluating heuristic solutions for network planning problems in EONs.