Gradual symbol rate switching for synchronous operation of flexible optical transceivers

We propose and experimentally validate a novel synchronous symbol rate switching method for digitally shaped optical signals, based on synchronized transmit- and receive-side interpolators. We show that a gradually performed rate adjustment in small discrete steps allows the dynamic equalizer at the receiver to successfully track signal changes. The proposed technique may be exploited, e.g., to reduce power consumption during night-time. Furthermore, the released spectrum may be used to accommodate other short-living opportunistic demands, such as in data center traffic.