  Optical communication systems represent the backbone of modern communication
networks. Since their deployment, different fiber technologies have been used
to deal with optical fiber impairments such as dispersion-shifted fibers and
dispersion-compensation fibers. In recent years, thanks to the introduction of
coherent detection based systems, fiber impairments can be mitigated using
digital signal processing (DSP) algorithms. Coherent systems are used in the
current 100 Gbps wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) standard technology.
They allow the increase of spectral efficiency by using multi-level modulation
formats, and are combined with DSP techniques to combat the linear fiber
distortions. In addition to linear impairments, the next generation 400 Gbps/1
Tbps WDM systems are also more affected by the fiber nonlinearity due to the
Kerr effect. At high input power, the fiber nonlinear effects become more
important and their compensation is required to improve the transmission
performance. Several approaches have been proposed to deal with the fiber
nonlinearity. In this paper, after a brief description of the Kerr-induced
nonlinear effects, a survey on the fiber nonlinearity compensation (NLC)
techniques is provided. We focus on the well-known NLC techniques and discuss
their performance, as well as their implementation and complexity. An extension
of the inter-subcarrier nonlinear interference canceler approach is also
proposed. A performance evaluation of the well-known NLC techniques and the
proposed approach is provided in the context of Nyquist and super-Nyquist
superchannel systems.
