UNIT- 5

Lightwave systems
1. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURES
Fiber-optic communication systems can be classified into three broad categories - point-to-
point links, distribution networks, and local-area networks.

1.1 Point-to-Point Links

Point-to-point links is the simplest form in fiber-optic communication systems. Their main
role is to transport information, in the form of digital bit stream, from one place to another
with high accuracy. The length of the link can vary from less than a kilometer to thousands of
kilometers, depending on the application required.

For example, optical data links are used to connect computers and terminals within the same
building or between two buildings with a relatively short transmission distance (< 10 km).
They are used mainly due to their immunity to electromagnetic interference, rather than their
low loss and wide bandwidth.

On the other hand, undersea lightwave systems are used for high-speed transmission across
continents with a link length of several thousands of kilometers. There is a need for low
losses and a large bandwidth, in order to reduce the operating cost.

The figure about shows the point-to-point fiber links with periodic loss compensation through
(a) regenerators and (b) optical amplifiers. A regenerator consists of a receiver followed by a
transmitter. Compensation is required when the link length exceeds a certain value,
depending on the operating wavelength, to prevent the signal from coming too weak to be
detected reliably.

1.2 Distribution Networks

In the case of distribution networks, information is not only transmitted, but is also distributed to a
group of subscribers. Examples include local-loop distribution of telephone services and broadcast of
multiple video channels over cable television. Such networks have the ability to distribute a wide
range of services, including telephone, facsimile, computer data, and video broadcasts. Transmission
distances are relatively short (< 50 km), but the bit rate can be as high as 10 Gb/s for a broadband
ISDN.

The figure about shows the structure of (a) hub topology and (b) bus topology for distribution
networks.

For hub topology, channel distribution takes place at central locations, where an automated
cross-connect facility switches channels in the electrical domain. Such networks are called
metropolitan-area networks (MANs) as hubs are typically located in major cities. The role of
fiber is similar to the role of point-to-point links. Several offices can share a single fiber
headed for the main hub as the fiber bandwidth is generally much larger than that required by
a single hub office.

A concern for the hub topology is related to its reliability—outage of a single fiber cable can
affect the service to a large portion of the network. However, additional point-to-point links
can be used to guard against such a possibility by connecting important hub locations
directly.

For bus topology, a single fiber cable carries the multichannel optical signal throughout the
area of service. Distribution is done by using optical taps, which divert a small fraction of the
optical power to each subscriber

An example is the common-antenna television (CATV) application of bus topology consists

of distributing multiple video channels within a city. The use of optical fiber permits
distribution of a large number of channels, because of its large bandwidth, as compared to
coaxial cables. For high definition television (HDTV), it also requires lightwave transmission
because of a large bandwidth (about 100 Mb/s) of each video channel, unless compression
techniques are used.

1.3 Local-Area Networks

Local-area networks, also known as LANs, refers to networks in which a large number of users within
a local area are interconnected in such a way that any user can access the network randomly to
transmit data to any other user. Optical-access networks used in a local subscriber loop also fall in this
category. For such networks, transmission distance are relative short (<10 km). Fiber losses are not a
big concern due to the short transmission distance.

The main difference between MANs and LANs is related to the random access offered to multiple
users of a LAN. The system architecture plays an important role for LANs, since the establishment of
predefined protocol rules is a necessity in such an environment.  Common topologies that are used for
such networks include bus, ring, and star configurations.
The figure about shows the structure of (a) ring topology and (b) star topology for local-area
networks.

For bus topology, the structure is similar to the one used in distribution networks. An example is the
one provided by Ethernet, whereby a network protocol used to connect multiple computers and used
by the Internet. The Ethernet operates at speeds up to 1 Gb/s by using a protocol based on carrier-
sense multiple access (CSMA) with collision detection. Although the Ethernet LAN architecture has
proven to be quite successful when coaxial cables are used for the bus, a number of difficulties arise
when optical fibers are used. There is also a major limitation is related to the losses occurring at each
tap, which limits the number of users.

In the case of the ring topology, consecutive nodes are connected by point-to-point links to form a
closed ring. Each node can transmit and receive the data by using a transmitter–receiver pair, which
also acts as a repeater. A token, as known as a predefined bit sequence, is passed around the ring.
Each node monitors the bit stream to listen for its own address and to receive the data. It can also
transmit by appending the data to an empty token. The use of ring topology for fiber-optic LANs has
been commercialized with the standardized interface known as the fiber distributed data interface
(FDDI) . The FDDI operates at 100 Mb/s by using multimode fibers and 1.3-μmtransmitters based on
light-emitting diodes. It is designed to provide backbone services such as the interconnection of
lower-speed LANs or mainframe computers.

In the case of the star topology, all nodes are connected through point-to-point links to a central node
called a hub, or simply a star. Such LANs are further sub-classified as active-star or passive-star
networks, depending on whether the central node is an active or passive device. In the active-star
configuration, all incoming optical signals are converted to the electrical domain through optical
receivers, before being distributed to drive individual node transmitters. Switching operations can also
be performed at the central node since, distribution takes place in the electrical domain. In the passive
star configuration, distribution takes place in the optical domain through devices such as directional
couplers. The power transmitted to each node depends on the number of users, since the input from
one node is distributed to many output nodes. As in the case of bus topology, the number of users
supported by passive-star LANs is also limited by the distribution losses.

2. LIGHTWAVE SYSTEM DESIGN GUIDELINES

The design of fiber-optic communication systems requires a clear understanding of the

limitations imposed by the loss, dispersion, and nonlinearity of the fiber. Since fiber
properties are wavelength dependent, the choice of operating wavelength is a major design
issue. In this tutorial, we discuss how the bit rate and the transmission distance of a single-
channel system are limited by fiber loss and dispersion. In the next tutorial we will discuss
multichannel systems. We also consider the power and rise-time budgets and illustrate them
through specific examples. The power budget is also called the link budget, and the rise-time
budget is sometimes referred to as the bandwidth budget.

2.1 Loss-Limited Lightwave Systems

Except for some short-haul fiber links, fiber losses play an important role in the system
design. Consider an optical transmitter that is capable of launching an average power  . If

the signal is detected by a receiver that requires a minimum average power   at the bit
rate B, the maximum transmission distance is limited by

where α  is the net loss (in dB/km) of the fiber cable, including splice and connector losses.
f

The bit-rate dependence of L arises from the linear dependence of   on the bit rate B.

Noting that  , where hν is the photon energy and   is the average
number of photons/bit required by the receiver, the distance L decreases logarithmically as B
increases at a given operating wavelength. Now let's take a look at the figure below.
The solid lines in the figure above show the dependence of L on B for three common
operating wavelengths of 0.85, 1.3, and 1.55 μm by using α  = 2.5, 0.4, and 0.25 dB/km,
f

respectively. The transmitted power is taken to be   = 1 mW at the three wavelengths,

whereas   = 300 at λ = 0.85 μm and   = 500 at 1.3 and 1.55 μm. The smallest value of L
occurs for first-generation systems operating at 0.85 μm because of relatively large fiber
losses near that wavelength. The repeater spacing of such systems is limited to 10-25 km,
depending on the bit rate and the exact value of the loss parameter. In contrast, a repeater
spacing of more than 100 km is possible for lightwave system operating near 1.55 μm.

The system requirements typically specified in advance are the bit rate B and the transmission
distancer L. The performance criterion is specified through the BER, a typical requirement
being BER < 10 .  The first decision of the system designer concerns the choice of the
-9

operating wavelength. As a practical matter, the cost of components is lowest near 0.85 μm
and increases as wavelength shifts toward 1.3 and 1.55 μm.

2.2 Dispersion-Limited Lightwave Systems

When the dispersion-limited transmission distance is shorten than the loss-limited distance,
the system is said to be dispersion-limited. The dashed lines in the figure above show the
dispersion-limited transmission distance as a function of the bit rate. Since the physical
mechanisms leading to dispersion limitation can be different for different operating
wavelengths, let us examine each case separately.

Consider first the case of 0.85-μm lightwave systems, which often use multimode fibers to
minimize the system cost. As discussed in the previous tutorial, the most limiting factor for
multimode fibers is intermodal dispersion. In the case of step-index multimode fibers, this
equation provides an upper bound on the BL product:
It is plotted in the figure above using n  = 1.46 and Δ = 0.01. Even at a low bit rate of 1 Mb/s,
1

such multimode systems are dispersion-limited, and their transmission distance is limited to
below 10 km. For this reason, multimode step-index fibers are rarely used in the design of
fiber-optic communication systems. Considerable improvement can be realized by using
graded-index fibers for which intermodal dispersion limits the BL product to values given by
the following equation:

The condition BL = 2c(n Δ ) is plotted in the figure above and shows that 0.85-μm lightwave
1
2

systems are loss-limited, rather than dispersion-limited, for bit rates up to 100 Mb/s when
graded-index fibers are used. The first generation of terrestrial system took advantage of such
an improvement and used graded-index fibers. The first commercial system became available
in 1980 and operated at a bit rate of 45 Mb/s with a repeater spacing of less than 10 km.

The second generation of lightwave systems used primarily single-mode fibers near the
minimum-dispersion wavelength occurring at about 1.31 μm. The most limiting factor for
such systems is dispersion-induced pulse broadening dominated by a relatively large source
spectral width. As discussed in previous tutorial, the BL product is then limited by the
following equation:

The value of |D| depends on how close the operating wavelength is to the zero-dispersion
wavelength of the fiber and is typically ~ 1 ps/(km-nm). The figure above shows the
dispersion limit for 1.3-μm lightwave systems by choosing |D|σ  = 2 ps/km so that BL <= 125
λ

(Gb/s)-km. As seen there, such systems are generally loss-limited for bit rates up to 1 Gb/s
but become dispersion-limited at higher bit rates.

2.3 Power Budget

The purpose of the power budget is to ensure that enough power will reach the receiver to
maintain reliable performance during the entire system lifetime. The minimum average power

required by the receiver is the receiver sensitivity  . The average launch power   is
generally known for any transmitter. The power budget takes an especially simple form in
decibel units with optical power expressed in dBm units. More specifically,

where C  is the total channel loss and M  is the system margin. The purpose of system margin
L s

is to allocate a certain amount of power to additional sources of power penalty that may
develop during system lifetime because of component degradation or other unforeseen
events. A system margin of 3-4 dB is typically allocated during the design process.

The channel loss C  should take into account all possible sources of power loss, including
L

connector and splice losses. If α   is the fiber loss in decibels per kilometer, C  can be
f L

written as

C  = α L + α  + α

L f con splice

where α  and α  account for the connector and splice losses throughout the fiber link. 
con splice

Sometimes splice loss is included within the specified loss of the fiber cable. The connector
loss α  includes connectors at the transmitter and receiver ends but must include other
con

connectors if used within the fiber link.

2.4 Rise-Time Budget

The purpose of the rise-time budget is to ensure that the system is able to operate properly at
the intended bit rate. Even if the bandwidth of the individual system components exceeds the
bit rate, it is still possible that the total system may not be able to operate at that bit rate. The
concept of rise time is used to allocate the bandwidth among various components. The rise
time T  of a linear system is defined as the time during which the response increases from 10
r

to 90% of its final output value when the input is changed abruptly. The following figure
illustrates the concept graphically.
An inverse relationship exists between the bandwidth Δf and the rise time T  associated with a r

linear system. This relationship can be understood by considering a simple RC circuit as an

example of the linear system. When the input voltage across an RC circuit changes
instantaneously from 0 to V , the output voltage changes as
0

V (t) = V [1 - exp(-t/RC)]

out 0

where R is the resistance and C is the capacitance of the RC circuit. The rise time is found to
be given by

T  = (ln9)RC ≈ 2.2RC
r

The transfer function H(f) of the RC circuit is obtained by taking the Fourier transform of
the V (t) equation and is of the form
out

H(f) = (1 + i2πfRC) -1

The bandwidth Δf of the RC circuit corresponds to the frequency at which |H(f)|  = 1/2 and is 2

given by the well known expression Δf = (2πRC) . By using T  equation above, Δf and T  are
-1
r r

related as

The inverse relationship between the rise time and the bandwidth is expected to hold for any
linear system. However, the product T Δf would generally be different than 0.35. One can
r

use T Δf = 0.35 in the design of optical communication systems as a conservative guideline.

r

The relationship between the bandwidth Δf and the bit rate B depends on the digital format.
In the case of return-to-zero (RZ) format, Δf = B and BT  = 0.35. By contrast, Δf ≈ B/2 for the
r

nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) format and BT  = 0.7. In both cases, the specified bit rate imposes
r

an upper limit on the maximum rise time that can be tolerated. The communication system
must be designed to ensure that T  is below this maximum value, i.e.,
r

The three components of fiber-optic communication systems have individual rise times. The
total rise time of the whole system is related to the individual component rise times
approximately as

T  = T  + T  + T

r
2
tr
2
fiber
2
rec
2

where T , T , and T  are the rise times associated with the transmitter, fiber, and receiver,
tr fiber rec

respectively. The rise times of the transmitter and receiver are generally known to the system
designer. The transmitter rise time T  is determined primarily by the electronic components of
tr

the driving circuit and the electrical parasitics associated with the optical source.

3. MULTICHANNEL: WDM LIGHTWAVE SYSTEMS

By means of high-speed tunable transmitters and receivers, WDM can be used for circuit and
packet switching, as well as for wavelength routing. In fact, WDM is expected to be a key
issue for the realisation of the optical layer of the transport network, thanks to photonic
switching techniques that take advantage of this multiplexing technique.
A fundamental property of single-mode fibers is their enormous low-loss bandwidth of many
terahertz. Single-channel transmission is limited in speed to much less than the fiber capacity
due to limitations in optoelectronic component speed and dispersive effects. However, a
widespread and straightforward approach, for more effectively utilising the fiber bandwidth,
is to transmit different channels simultaneously on a single fiber, with each channel placed at
a different wavelength.
In principle, the available optical bandwidth in the third region (where optical amplifiers are
available) is approximately 100 nm. However, on the assumption that most advanced systems
will make use of EDF As, the maximum bandwidth available is about 30 nm, which is the
bandwidth of a single EDFA. The equivalent frequency range is found by using the
relationship
c = fA,
which on differentiation leads to

where A is the operating wavelength and c the speed of light.

Channel separation, which has to be accomplished before the single channel detection, is a
crucial issue. Selectivity is important in determining the channel wavelength separation and is
strictly related to the available technology. Thus it is necessary to use different names for
WDM systems, according to the wavelength separation technology. Even if there is no
standardised version, a common form is as follows:
• WDM systems: the spacing is greater than 1 nm (e.g. 4 nm) using direct detection
techniques. Optical filtering can be used before detection to select wavelength. These systems
typically use a relatively small number of channels.
• HD-WDM systems: high-density WDM means, in general, spacing less than or equal on 1
nm. They generally use direct detection together with pre--detection narrowband filtering for
wavelength selection.
• CMC systems: coherent multichannel systems use coherent heterodyne detection techniques
to provide very high selectivity together with good detection sensitivity, thus channel
separation can be very small, e.g. 0.1 nm. This technique, which would allow more than 100
channels.

4. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS:

4.1 Bit error rate (BER)
BER (bit error ratio) is a signal quality quantitative measurement of digital communication
systems.
Transmission quality of telecommunication systems can be assessed directly by measuring
how well the output signal reproduces the input. Bit Error Ratio (or Rate) is the signal quality
concept used for digital communication systems (Signal-to-Noise Ratio SNR is used for
analog communication systems instead).

BER measurements compare digital input and output signals to assess what fraction of the
bits are received incorrectly. It is defined as

where   is the number of bits received in error over time t, and  is the total
number of bits transmitted in time t.

The BER essentially specifies the average probability of incorrect bit identification. Thus, a
BER of 10  means that 1 bit out of every 10  bit is, on average, read incorrectly. If the system
-9 9

is operating at 100 Mb/s – that is, 10  pulses per second – then to receive 10  pulses, the time
8 9

taken would be

which is the average time for an error to occur. On the other hand, if the BER is 10 , then, on
-6

average, an error would occur every 0.01s, which is unacceptable.

4.2 The Eye Diagram

An eye diagram is used in electrical engineering to get a good idea of signal quality in
the digital domain. To generate a waveform analogous to an eye diagram, we can
apply infinite persistence to various analog signals a well as to quasi-digital signals
such as square wave and pulse as synthesized by an arbitrary frequency generator
(AFG).
The eye diagram takes its name from the fact that it has the appearance of a human
eye. It is created simply by superimposing successive waveforms to form a composite
image. The eye diagram is used primarily to look at digital signals for the purpose of
recognizing the effects of distortion and finding its source.

Ideally, the eye diagram for digital signals would consist of two parallel lines with an
instantaneous rise and fall times virtually invisible. In the real world, even a
reasonably good and quite acceptable digital signal will exhibit some amount of
amplitude and timing variation, which will show up as discrete lines that are not
exactly where they belong but will nonetheless suffice. If there are enough of them,
darkened areas will appear.
It is important to realize what is shown in an eye diagram and what is not shown. In
digital transmission, a succession of ones and zeroes flows to the receiver. The
transmission can consist of a long series of ones, a long series of zeroes, a regular or
irregular sequence that repeats periodically, a quasi-random series or any
combination. The eye diagram will reveal whether everything works as intended or if
there are faults that garble the transmission, causing, for example, the reception of a
zero when a one has been sent.

The eye diagram will not reveal whether an incorrect logic state has been sent through
a programming error or hardware fault. However, this does not apply where certain
tests are being made, as when a transmission pattern is known at both ends.
 The rate at which the eye closes as the sampling time is varied (i.e., the slope of the
eye-pattern sides) determines the sensitivity of the system to timing errors. The
possibility of timing errors increases as the slope becomes more horizontal.
 Timing jitter (also referred to as eye jitter or phase distortion) in an optical fiber
system arises from noise in the receiver and pulse distortion in the optical fiber. If the
signal is sampled in the middle of the time interval (i.e., midway between the times
when the signal crosses the threshold level), then the amount of distortion ΔT at the
threshold level indicates the amount of jitter. Timing jitter is thus given by

 Traditionally, the rise time is defined as the time interval between the point where the
rising edge of the signal reaches 10 percent of its final amplitude to the time where it
reaches 90 percent of its final amplitude. However, in measuring optical signals, these
points are often obscured by noise and jitter effects. Thus, the more distinct values at
the 20 percent and 80 percent threshold points normally are measured. To convert
from the 20 to 80 percent rise time to a 10 to 90 percent rise time, one can use the
approximate relationship
 Any non-linearity of the channel transfer characteristics will create an asymmetry in
the eye pattern. If a purely random data stream is passed through a purely linear
system, all the eye openings will be identical and symmetric.

4.2 Optical signal to noise ratio

Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR) [dB] is the measure of the ratio of signal power
to noise power in an optical channel.

OSNR is important because it suggests a degree of impairment when the optical

signal is carried by an optical transmission system that includes optical amplifiers.
Given the OSNR, the empirical formula to calculate BER for single fiber is
Log10 (BER) = 10.7-1.45 (OSNR)
 UNIT- 6
Optical components and sensors

1. OPTICAL SENSORS
An optical sensor converts light rays into an electronic signal. The purpose of an optical
sensor is to measure a physical quantity of light and, depending on the type of sensor, then
translates it into a form that is readable by an integrated measuring device. Optical Sensors
are used for contact-less detection, counting or positioning of parts. Optical sensors can be
either internal or external. External sensors gather and transmit a required quantity of light,
while internal sensors are most often used to measure the bends and other small changes in
direction.
The measurands possible by different optical sensors are Temperature, Velocity Liquid level,
Pressure, Displacement (position), Vibrations, Chemical species, Force radiation, pH- value,
Strain, Acoustic field and Electric field.

1.1 Types of Optical Sensors

There are different kinds of optical sensors, the most common types which we have been
using in our real world applications as given below.

 Photoconductive devices used to measure the resistance by converting a change of

incident light into a change of resistance.
 The photovoltaic cell (solar cell) converts an amount of incident light into an output
voltage.
 The Photodiodes convert an amount of incident light into an output current.

1.2 Optical switch

An optical switch is a multiport network bridge which connects multiple optic fibers to each
other and controls data packets routing between inputs and outputs. Some optical switches
convert light to electrical data before forwarding it and converting it into a light signal again.
Other optical switches, which are called All-optical, can route and forward the light pulses
themselves without any electrical conversion.

The most direct understanding of optical switch is a device used to open or close an optical
circuit. It consists of mechanical, opto mechanical, or electronic types. In a network, we
usually require protection switching to complete or break an optical path. The key attributes
must operate reliably after a long period in one position, system monitoring, and diagnosis
commonly feature these devices. An optical switch has one or more inputs ports and two or
more output ports that we usually call 1xN or NxN optical switch.
How Does Optical Switch Work
The optical switch is a technology that operates on fiber optic circuit to work similar to
traditional electrical network switches. The optical switch we mainly mentioned here is
operated by mechanical means which physically move fiber or other bulk optic elements. For
example, the opto-mechanical switch redirected an optical signal by moving fiber by means of
a mechanical device are typically stepper motor driven. It move a mirror (prisms, or
directional couplers) that directs the light from the input to the desired output.

2. FIBER BRAGG GRATING

Normal optical fibers are uniform along their lengths. In a simple fiber Bragg grating, the
refractive index of the fiber core vary periodically along the length of the fiber, as shown in
the following figure.
2.1 HOW FIBER BRAGG GRATING REFLECTS AND TRANSMITS LIGHT
As shown in the above figure, the refractive index of the fiber core is modulated with a period
of Λ. When a light with a broad spectrum is launched into one end of fiber containing a fiber
Bragg grating, the part of the light with wavelength matching the Bragg grating wavelength
will be reflected back to the input end, with the rest of the light passing through to the other
end. This reflection phenomena is explained in the following figure.

From the momentum conservation requirement of the Bragg grating condition, the following
equation can be obtained:

where n  is the effective refractive index of the fiber core, and
eff

λ  is the wavelength of the light reflected by the Bragg grating.

B

Therefore, the Bragg grating wavelength λ  can be expressed as

B

Note that the Bragg grating wavelength is the function of the effective index and the period of
the grating.

Fiber Bragg grating can be used as a MUX/DEMUX device in WDM systems for extracting a
signal (channel) with a particular wavelength from a stream of signals (channels). This is
shown in the following two pictures..
2.2 REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION IN FIBER GRATINGS

The fundamental principle behind the operation of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is Fresnel
reflection. Where light traveling between media of different refractive indices may both
reflect and refract at the interface.

The fiber Bragg grating will typically have a sinusoidal refractive index variation over a
defined length. We have seen the definition of Bragg wavelength λ  from the previous
B

section.
The wavelength spacing between the first minima, (as shown in above figure), or the
bandwidth
Δλ is given by,

where
δn  is the variation in the refractive index (n -n ), and
0 3 2

η is the fraction of power in the core.

2.3 FIBER BRAGG GRATING STRUCTURE

The structure of the FBG can vary via the refractive index, or the grating period. The grating
period can be uniform or graded, and either localised or distributed in a superstructure.The
refractive index has two primary characteristics, the refractive index profile, and the offset.
Typically, the refractive index profile can be uniform or apodized, and the refractive index
offset is positive or zero.

There are six common structures for Fiber Bragg Gratings;

1. Uniform positive-only index change

2. Gaussian apodized
3. Raised-cosine apodized
4. Chirped
5. Discrete phase shift
6. Superstructure

3. OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS

 In order to transmit signals over long distances (>100 km) it is necessary to compensate for
attenuation losses within the fiber.
  Initially this was accomplished with an optoelectronic module consisting of an optical
receiver, a regeneration and equalization system, and an optical transmitter to send the data.
 Although functional this arrangement is limited by the optical to electrical and electrical to
optical conversions. Fiber Optical Signal In OE Rx Electronic Amp Equalization Regeneration
OE Tx Fiber Optical Signal Out
 Several types of optical amplifiers have since been demonstrated to replace the OE –
electronic regeneration systems.
 These systems eliminate the need for E-O and O-E conversions. This is one of the main
reasons for the success of today’s optical communications systems.

The general form of an optical amplifier:

Some types of OAs that have been demonstrated include:

a. Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs)
b. Fiber Raman and Brillouin amplifiers
c. Rare earth doped fiber amplifiers (erbium – EDFA 1500 nm, praseodymium – PDFA
1300 nm)

3.1 Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) – similar to a laser cavity.

Used as a discrete amplifiers. They can be integrated into arrays of amplifying switching and gating
devices. Finding application in all optical 3Rregeneration systems.
3.2 Rare Earth Doped Fiber Amplifier:
Rare earth doped fiber amplifiers are finding increasing importance in optical communications
systems. Perhaps the most important version is erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) due to their
ability to amplify signals at the low loss 1.55 m wavelength range.
 Unit- 7
Advances in optical communication

1. FREE SPACE OPTICS (FSO)

FSO (free space optics) is an optical communication technology in which data is transmitted
by propagation of light in free space allowing optical connectivity. There is no requirement of
the optical fiber cable. Working of FSO is similar to OFC (optical fiber cable) networks but
the only difference is that the optical beams are sent through free air instead of OFC cores
that is glass fiber. FSO system consists of an optical transceiver at both ends to provide full
duplex (bidirectional) capability. FSO communication is not a new technology. It has been in
existence from 8th century but now is more evolved. FSO is a LOS (line of sight) technology,
where data, voice, and video communication is achieved with maximum 10Gbps of data rate
by full duplex (bidirectional) connectivity.

1.1 An effective FSO system should have the following characteristics:

 FSO systems should have the ability to operate at higher power levels for longer
distance.
 For high speed FSO systems, high speed modulation is important.
 An overall system design should have small footprint and low power consumption
because of its maintenance.
 FSO system should have the ability to operate over wide temperature range and the
performance degradation would be less for outdoor systems.
 Mean time between failures (MTBF) of system should be more than 10 years.

1.2 Applications:
FSO communication link is currently in use for many services at many places:

(a) Outdoor wireless access: it can be used by wireless service providers for communication
and it requires no license to use the FSO as it is required in case of microwave bands.

(b) Storage Area Network (SAN): FSO links can be used to form a SAN. It is a network
which is known to provide access to consolidated, block level data storage.

(c) Last-mile access: to lay cables of users in the last mile is very costly for service providers
as the cost of digging to lay fiber is so high and it would make sense to lay as much fiber as
possible. FSO can be used to solve such problem by implementing it in the last mile along
with other networks. It is a high speed link. It is also used to bypass local-loop systems of
other kinds of networks.

(d) Enterprise connectivity: FSO systems are easily installable. This feature makes it
applicable for interconnecting LAN segments to connect two buildings or other property.

(e)Fiber backup: FSO can also be applicable in providing a backup link in case of failure of
transmission through fiber link.
(f)Metro-network extensions: It can be used in extending the fiber rings of an existing
metropolitan area. FSO system can be deployed in lesser time and connection of the new
networks and core infrastructure is easily done. It can also be used to complete SONET rings.

(g)Backhaul: it can be helpful in carrying the traffic of cellular telephone from antenna
towers back to the PSTN with high speed and high data rate. The speed of transmission
would increase.

(h)Service acceleration: it can also be used to provide instant service to customers when their
fiber infrastructure is being deployed in the mean time.

(i)Bridging WAN Access: FSO is beneficial in WAN where it supports high speed data
services for mobile users and small satellite terminals and acts as a backbone for high speed
trunking network.

(j)It can be used to communicate between point-to-point links, for example, two buildings,
two ships, and point-to-multipoint links, for example, from aircraft to ground or satellite to
ground, for short and long reach communication.

(k)Military access: as it is a secure and undetectable system it can connect large areas safely
with minimal planning and deployment time and is hence suitable for military applications.

2. MICROWAVE PHOTONICS

Microwave photonics is an interdisciplinary research between radio-frequency (RF)

engineering and photo-electronics. An RF input signal is imposed in an optical signal simply
by using an external electro-optic modulator. The signal is then all-optically processed
through photonic devices and emitted through photo-receiver as RF output. Its main field of
applications is very diverse, exploring over broadband wireless networks, radar/satellite
communications, sensors and warfare systems and extensively studied over the last few years.

Major advantages of microwave photonics over pure RF engineering systems.

 Significantly reduced size, weight, low and frequency-independent propagation loss

in network links, immunity to electromagnetic waves and high capacity for broadband
signals. 
  Wide range operation frequency over the entire microwave (tens of GHz) and
millimeter waves (hundreds of GHz) and a ultra-large signal bandwidth with fast
processing and low loss.

3. DWDM
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) is an optical multiplexing technology
used to increase bandwidth over existing fiber networks. DWDM works by combining and
transmitting multiple signals simultaneously at different wavelengths on the same fiber. The
technology creates multiple virtual fibers, thus multiplying the capacity of the physical
medium.
DWDM allows enormous amounts of data to traverse a single network link. Because they are
carried on distinct wavelengths, the streams -- also called channels -- do not interfere with
each other. Consequently, data integrity is maintained, as well as any security-related
partitioning -- separate tenants in the same data center, for example.
Because of its ability to handle so much data, DWDM is popular with telecommunications
and cable companies and is an integral part of their core networks. It is also of interest to
anyone running densely populated data centers, particularly hyperscale cloud service
providers for their IaaS infrastructures or colocation providers for their densely multi-
tenanted spaces, for example.

How DWDM works

DWDM wavelength channels are implemented via an array of infrared (IR) laser beams. In a
system in which each channel carries 100 Gbps and 192 channels per fiber pair, that
translates to 19.2 Tbps capacity per pair. Because the channels are physically distinct and
don't interfere with each other thanks to the properties of light, each of the channels can use
different data formats and be transmitted at different data rates.