Using an NRZ-QPSK modulation format we performed digital post-compensation of a single-channel optical signal at 40 Gb/s. Post-compensation is done after coherent detection, via digital backward propagation, where we applied different versions of
split-step Fourier method to solve the inverse Schrödinger equation, describing signal propagation in the reverse fiber direction. We analyzed and compared simulation results aiming to determine the best choice of parameters in order to obtain an
optimized tradeoff between performance and computational efficiency of the backward propagation algorithm.