Editing Dispersion-limited operation

A '''dispersion-limited operation''' is an [[Instruction (computer science)|operation]] of a [[information transfer|communications]] [[Data link|link]] in which [[signal]] [[waveform]] [[Degradation (telecommunications)|degradation]] attributable to the dispersive effects of the communications [[Transmission medium|medium]] is the dominant mechanism that limits link performance. The dispersion is the filter-like effect which a link has on the signal, due to the different propagation speeds of the [[eigenmode]]s of the link. Practically, this means that the waveform at the input will be different from the waveform at the output of the link.

Note that the amount of allowable degradation is dependent on the quality of the receiver. In fiber optic communications, ''[[dispersion (optics)|dispersion]]-limited operation'' is often confused with ''[[distortion-limited operation]]''.

==References==
* {{FS1037C MS188}}

[[Category:Fiber-optic communications]]