Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-passive optical network (OFDM-PON) and single-carrier fre-quency division multiplexing (SCFDM)-PON are promising solutions for future high-speed PON-based access. A polarization division multiplexing scheme with direct detection is proposed for OFDM-PON to effectively reduce bandwidth requirements for components. However, the scheme strictly requires spec-trum overlapping of two orthogonal sidebands and the 4×4 multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) algorithm to eliminate complex cross-polarization interference. In this letter, we propose a polarization interleaving (PI) approach that significantly reduces bandwidth requirements for optical and electrical components while achieving a high-flexibility and low-complexity MIMO algorithm. Downstream single sideband PI-SCFDM transmission is experimentally demonstrated.
