Architecture of Optical Networks

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 CONTENTS
➢ Introduction

➢ Architecture of optical networks

➢ Network topologies

➢ Components of optical networks

➢ Architecture of WDM networks

➢ Elements of WDM networks

➢ Limitations of WDM networks

➢ Architecture of elastic(flexible) optical networks

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➢ Components of flexible optical networks

 INTRODUCTION
Synchronous optical networking (SONET)/ Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy (SDH) core network:

➢SONET/SDH are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit

streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent
light from light emitting diodes(LEDs).

➢As we see the increasing dominance of data traffic and emergence of new
optical layer equipments, several deficiencies of SONET / SDH based
network architecture become evident.

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Drawbacks of SONET/SDH

Some drawbacks of SONET/SDH are as follows:

➢ It consists primarily of static rings where capacity is provisioned in a

static manner.

➢ It does not allow the rapid provisioning of services end to end across
the on time scales of tens of milliseconds (for fast protection
switching) to network seconds (for rapid provisioning).

➢The traffic demands themselves are more meshed , and the ring
architecture is not the most efficient at supporting an inherently
meshed traffic demand .

➢For these reasons, the network architecture is changing in some

significant ways. 4
 Optical Network Architecture
Central office Customer
premises

Customer
premises

Business

Long haul Metropolitan

interexchange Metropolitan
interoffice access network
network network

➢ Optical networks can be broken up into :

1.Long haul networks
2. Metropolitan networks: (a) Metro interoffice networks
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(b) Metro access networks
Long haul networks (Wide Area Networks (WAN) or interchange carrier
(IXC) public networks)

➢ Interconnects cities or different regions and spans hundreds to thousands

of kilometres between central offices.

Metropolitan networks (local exchange carrier (LEC) )

(a). The interoffice network connects groups of central offices with in a

city or region and spans a few kilometres to several tens of
kilometres between offices.

(b).The access network extends from a central office out to individual

businesses or homes and span few kilometres, and it mostly collects
traffic from customer locations into the carrier network.
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 Network Topologies
➢A topology is a usually schematic description of the arrangement of a
network, including its nodes and connecting lines.

➢Topology - Physical and logical network layout

1. Physical – actual layout of the computer cables and other network
devices.
2. Logical – the way in which the network appears to the devices that use
it.

➢There are four principal topologies used in LANs:bus,ring, star and mesh.

➢Bus topology: In Bus Topology, all stations attach through appropriate

hardware interfacing known as a tap, directly to a linear
transmission medium, or bus as shown in Fig.1.
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 Fig:1 Bus topology

Ring topology:
In the ring topology, the network consists of a set of repeaters
joined by point-to-point links in a closed loop as shown in Fig.2.

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Fig:2 Ring topology
➢Star topology: In the star topology, each station is directly
connected to a common central node as shown in
Fig. 3.

Fig:3 Star topology

➢Mesh topology: In the mesh topology, each node or station is connected

to every other station as shown in Fig.4.

Fig:4 Mesh topology

 Components of optical networks
Components used in optical networks are given below:

• Couplers
• Isolators/Circulators
• Multiplexers/Filters
• Fabry Perot Filters
• Multilayer dielectrics
• Mach Zehnder interferometers
• Acousto-optic tunable filters
• Optical Amplifiers
• Erbium doped fiber Amplifiers

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 Directional Couplers
Input 1 Output 1

Fibers or waveguides
L
Coupling length
Input 2 Output 2

Fig.5: A 2x2 Coupler

• A directional coupler is used to combine and split signals in an optical
network.

• A 2 × 2 coupler consists of two input ports and two output ports, as is shown
in figure 5

• The coupler can be designed in two ways as:

(a)Wavelength selective (b) Wavelength independent

• Couplers are reciprocal devices, in that the devices work exactly the same
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way if their input and output are reversed.
 Isolators
➢ An isolator is a nonreciprocal device. Its main function is to allow
transmission in one direction through it but block all transmission in the
other direction.

(a) Polarization dependent

Isolator

(b) Polarization independent

Isolator

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 Circulators
➢ Circulator is isolator with multiple ports, typically 3 or 4.

➢ Circulators are useful in constructing optical add/drop elements.

1 3

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Fig.6: Circulator(4 ports)
 Multiplexers/Filters
λ1 , λ2, λ3, λ4
Wavelength filter λ1
λ2, λ3, λ4
Fig.7: A simple filter
• Optical filters are essential components in transmission systems.
• Used for multiplexing and demultiplexing the wavelengths in a WDM
system, these devices are called multiplexers/ demultiplexers.
• A simple filter is a two-port device that selects one wavelength and rejects all
others as shown in fig.7.

λ1 λ1 , λ2, λ3, λ4
λ2
λ3 Wavelength multiplexer
λ4

Fig.8:Multiplexer
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A multiplexer combines signals at different wavelengths on its input ports onto a
common output port, and a demultiplexer performs the opposite function.
λ1(1) , λ2(1), λ3(1), λ4(1)
λ1
λ1(2) , λ2(1), λ3(1), λ4(2)
λ2
λ3
λ4

Demultiplexer Multiplexer

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λ1(1) , λ2(2), λ3(2), λ4(1)

λ1(2) , λ2(2), λ3(2), λ4(2)

Fig.9: Static Wavelength cross-connect

Demultiplexers and multiplexers can be cascaded to realize static

wavelength cross-connects.
 Interference

Young’s double slit experiment

Screen

S1

x
2d
S=
S
S2
Source

x.d OPD=nλ=Constructive
OPD= interference
D

OPD=(2n+1)λ/2=Destructive interference
Diffraction

d.sinθ = nλ
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 Bragg Gratings
(i) Fiber Bragg Grating
Two waves propagating in opposite directions with propagation constants
β0 and β1 . Energy is coupled from one wave to the other if they satisfy the
Bragg phase-matching condition

β0 =(2π/λ). 𝑛𝑒𝑓𝑓 Principle of operation of Bragg grating

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A combined add drop element

 Long period fiber grating
In fiber Bragg gratings, energy from the forward propagating mode in the
fiber core at the right wavelength is coupled into a backward propagating
mode. In long-period gratings, energy is coupled from the forward
propagating mode in the fiber core onto other forward propagating modes
in the cladding. These cladding modes are extremely lossy, and their
energy decays rapidly as they propagate along the fiber, due to losses at
the cladding–air interface and due to microbends in the fiber.
p
If β denotes the propagation constant of the mode in the core and βcl that of
the pth-order cladding mode, then the phase-matching condition dictates
that

The difference in propagation constants between the core mode and any one
of the cladding modes is quite small, leading to a fairly large value of in
order for coupling to occur. This value is usually a few hundred
micrometers.

Where we used the relation

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 Multilayer Dielectric Thin-Film Filters

OPD = nλ ( Constructive interference)

t
n = ref index

OPD = (2n+1)λ/2 ( Destructive interference)

2nt cosθ = OPD

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A wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer using multilayer dielectric thin film filters.

 Mach-Zehnder Interferometers

The signal in the lower arm lags the one in the upper arm in phase by π/2,

Since there is a length difference of L between the two arms, there is a further phase lag of β.ΔL
introduced in the signal in the lower arm.

In the second directional coupler, the signal from the lower arm undergoes another phase delay of
π/2 in going to the first output relative to the signal from the upper arm. Thus the total relative
phase difference at upper output between the two signals is π/2 + β.ΔL + π/2.
In going to the second output, the signal from the upper arm lags the signal from the lower arm in
phase by π/2. Thus the total relative phase difference at the second or lower output between the
two signals is π/2 + β.ΔL − π/2 = βL
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Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter

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 OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS
➢The optical signals from the transmitter are attenuated by the optical
fiber as they propagate through it.

➢ And also insertion losses of other components, signals may become too
week to be detected.

➢ Prior to the advent of optical amplifiers over the last decade, the only
option was to regenerate the signal, that is, receive the signal and
retransmit it using device known as regenerators.

➢ But optical amplifiers have advantages over regenerators are:

(a) Optical amplifiers are insensitive to the bit rate or signal formats.

(b) Optical amplifiers have fairly large gain bandwidths, and as a

consequence, a single amplifier can simultaneously amplify several 23

WDM signals.
 TYPES OF OPTICAL AMPLIFIERS

➢ Erbium-doped fibre amplifiers : silica fibre doped with Erbium ions.

Laser pumps are needed.

➢Semiconductor optical amplifiers : earlier technology, using p-n junction

of semiconductors to amplify light. No pump source is needed.

➢Raman amplifiers :using the Raman scattering non-linear effect. Needs

laser pump source but it can be used in all bands.

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 Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers

An erbium-doped fiber amplifier.

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Three energy levels E1, E2, and E3 of Er3+ ions in
silica glass. The gain curve of EDFA