Abstract: The definition of higher-order polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is presented firstly in this paper. Then, based on the numerical model of higher-order PMD introduced in it, the impact of higher-order PMD on the 40 Gbit/s NRZ systems is discussed with numerical simulation. The result shows that if the PMD is higher than 8ps, eye-opening penalty due to only higher-order PMD will be larger than 2 dB. This demonstrates that the effect of higher-order PMD on the high bit-rate digital fiber communication systems is very obvious and cannot be neglected.

Key words: higher-order polarization mode dispersion(PMD), differential group delay(DGD) slope, principal state of polarization(PSP)rotationrate