State-of-Polarization Sensing with Coherent Transponders in Live Submarine Links: Noise Analysis, Processing Improvements and Practical Implications
Abstract
Abstract Submarine optical communication cables are increasingly considered as global geophysical sensing infrastructure thanks to coherent transponders, which can continuously monitor information such as SOP fluctuations during data transmission. While SOP sensing with coherent receivers has demonstrated substantial potential, its sensitivity in deployed networks is limited by multiple noise mechanisms, receiver-induced estimation artifacts, and telemetry constraints. In this work, we characterize the noise processes governing coherent-transponder-based polarization sensing, verify the sensing response in laboratory and field environments, and assess signal-processing strategies to enhance seismic detectability. We show that the measured polarization PSD exhibits two regimes: (i) intrinsic fiber-induced polarization diffusion, and (ii) a frequency-independent estimation-noise floor arising from ASE, electrical noise, and receiver DSP. The transition between these regimes occurs between approximately 0.01 Hz and 0.1 Hz for a 2 Hz sampling rate, implying that the 0.1 Hz–1 Hz seismic band is predominantly estimation-noise limited. Controlled laboratory noise-loading experiments confirm that the estimation noise depends on transmission quality. We show that increased telemetry sampling rates, digital SC fusion, principal-component-based processing, and differential quaternion tracking can reduce incoherent and anisotropic noise or processing artifacts. Field measurements from…
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