Architectures and techniques for all-optical networks

Abstract

Some recent results on all-optical packet-switching and broadcasting networks are presented. The performance evaluation problem of packet-switching transparent optical networks with deflection routing is addressed. Transmission error arguments show how, for a given optical bit rate, the size of an all-optical nonregenerative multishop network is limited by the accumulation of noise and distortion in the optical fiber channel. Time-domain multiple access techniques are exploited in novel architectures based on recently proposed all-optical sampling gates to realize the matching of the ultrahigh optical speed allowed by the large bandwidth of the fiber with the lower speed of the electronic components needed at the user ends. These architectures allow great simplification of the node structure in the considered all-optical multihop and broadcast networks.     

A comparison of optically and electronically controlled optical switches

Electronically and optically controlled optical switches are compared with respect to switch energy requirements. Only switches based on optical phase change are treated, since these have the largest flexibility. Further, only switches that preserve input wavelength at the output are considered, due to cascadeability requirements. It is argued that as long as ‘all-optical’ switches need electronically controlled switches for information transfer to the optical signals controlling the all-optical switch, this will compromise any other advantages that the all-optical switch and the corresponding systems might have. A further application for all-optical switches, which currently are orders of magnitude faster than electronically controlled ones, would be in banks of electronically controlled slower all-optical switches which are all-optically multiplexed to drive all-optical switches to data rates not currently achievable by electronically controlled switches. It is argued that such systems will be complex, requiring sophisticated electronic synchronization and being inferior to corresponding wavelength division multiplexing systems. Power dissipation and switch energy are analyzed for two different physical mechanisms for controllably changing the refractive index in the all-optical and electronically controlled optical switches: Pockels and Kerr effects as well as the plasma or free carrier effect and the relative merits of electronically and optically controlled optical switches using these are discussed. It is shown that, in the former case, (Pockels and Kerr effects) using representative data, electronically controlled switches are generally more power efficient than the all-optical counterparts.     

Cost of power—the user's perspective

Abstract

With the advent of fiber in the loop, transmission of power ceases to be through the traditional communications medium, and the objective of powering voice lines over fiber with the same reliability goals as plain old telephone service (POTS) raises several technological, regulatory, and business issues. In order to power the optical network unit (ONU) and provide backup power for it during commercial power outages, three strategies are identified: 1) providing loop powering from a ?48 volt CO/CEV power plant; 2) providing power and backup power locally, from or near the end of the loop in proximity to the OW; and 3) providing power from the curb or a power node. This paper constructs economic models to determine the worth of a watt at the 5-volt logic level at an ONU for each of the powering strategies. By normalizing all costs to the worth of a watt, comparisons can be made and appropriate architectures can be selected for various applications.     

基于高非线性微结构光纤的全光再生研究

提出了利用高非线性微结构光纤自相位调制效应进行全光再生的研究方案。分析了一组微结构光纤的色散和非线性特性。结果显示光纤的非线性系数与光纤结构有密切关系。通过减小有效模面积,可以提高光纤的非线性系数。采用一种高空气填充比的高非线性微结构光纤作为非线性介质,进行了基于自相位调制效应的全光再生研究。结果表明,由于微结构光纤的高非线性,采用较短的光纤长度就可以实现较好的再生效果。同时,输入微结构光纤的峰值功率、滤波器的参量选择对光再生的效果有重要的影响,它们必需满足一定要求,才能实现光再生。此外,对再生器的传输特性进行了研究。通过调整输入峰值功率和滤波器的参量,可以对不同宽度的光脉冲信号进行全光再生。     

Effect of Launching Condition on Modal Power Characteristics of Multi-Mode Step-Index Optical Fiber: A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation

Abstract

This article investigates optical power transmission characteristics with varying launching conditions concentrating on weakly guiding, step-index highly multi-moded optical fibers. A single analytical expression for the fractional power transmitted per mode in a highly multi-moded fiber is obtained. This expression is used to numerically obtain the fractional power per mode, power per modal order, and finally, the total power carried by the fiber. Experiments are carried out to investigate the effect of launching conditions on the total power carried by the fiber and to establish a possible correlation with the theoretical results. Reasons for the observed experimental discrepancies are also discussed.

     

Optimum structural parameters of fibers in LED-graded index fiber transmission systems

Abstract

The loss in a low-loss multimode optical fiber consists of Rayleigh scattering loss and microbending loss. These losses depend on the structural parameters of the fiber. On the other hand, the coupling optical power from optical source into fiber and connection loss of fibers also depend on the parameters. This paper considers the combination of light emitting diode as an optical source and a graded index fiber as a transmission line and discusses the optimum parameters that give the longest possible span length between an optical transmitter and receiver.     

半导体光放大器的稳态增益饱和特性

高速全光逻辑门是实现光分组交换、光计算和未来高速大容量光传输的关键器件,近年来受到广泛的关注。半导体光放大器（SOA）因为具备体积小、工作波长范围宽、响应时间短及良好的非线性特性等优点,成为研制高速全光逻辑器件的首选。采用分段模型分析了SOA的稳态增益饱和特性,通过数值求解载流子速率方程和光传输方程对其特性进行了仿真实现。结果表明,SOA在入射光功率不同时会表现出明显的非线性;在一定范围内增加光功率,SOA增益持续增加,继续增加入射光功率,SOA逐渐进入饱和吸收状态,增益反而降低。     

Implication of very wide fiber bandwidth for network architecture

The basic premise of this article is that at some point in the future all the transmission facilities of the public (telephone) network will be fiberoptic, i.e., end-to-end fiber connectivity will be provided to each subscriber. With the advent of coherent transmission systems the available bandwidth will become enormous, and thus the question we address is: given the availability of “infinite” bandwidth to every subscriber in the relatively near future, what does this imply for the network architecture? In particular, which switching technology is best suited to providing all foreseeable voice, data, and video services? Having discussed advantages and disadvantages of architectures based on different switching technologies, we conclude that an architecture based on circuit-switched, fixed-bandwidth channels for the transport of user information is the most appropriate for a network in which there are no constraints on the transmission bandwidth. The standard channel capacity should be determined by the service having the greatest bandwidth requirement.     

Study of the Performance of an All-Optical Half-Adder Based on Three-Core Non-Linear Directional Fiber Coupler Under Delayed and Instantaneous Non-Linear Kerr Responses

Abstract

Recently, much attention has been given to the influence of the relaxation process of the non-linear response, because the usual assumption of instantaneous non-linear response fails for ultra-short pulses, and additional contributions coming from non-linear dispersion and delayed non-linearity have to be taken into account. This article presents a numerical analysis of the symmetric planar and asymmetric planar three-core non-linear directional fiber couplers operating with a soliton pulse, where effects of both delayed and instantaneous non-linear Kerr responses are analyzed for implementation of an all-optical half-adder. To implement this all-optical half-adder, eight configurations were analyzed for the non-linear directional fiber coupler, with two symmetric and six asymmetric configurations. The half-adder is the key building block for many digital processing functions, such as shift register, binary counter, and serial parallel data converters. The optical coupler is an important component for applications in optical-fiber telecommunication systems and all integrated optical circuit because of its very high switching speeds. In this numerical simulation, the symmetric/asymmetric planar presents a structure with three cores in a parallel equidistant arrangement, three logical inputs, and two output energy. To prove the effectiveness of the theoretical model for generation of the all-optical half-adder, the best phase to be applied to the control pulse was sought, and a study was done of the extinction ratio level as a function of the Δ > parameter, the normalized time duration, and the Sum and Carry outputs of the (symmetric planar/asymmetric planar) non-linear directional fiber coupler. In this article, the interest is in transmission characteristics, extinction ratio level, normalized time duration, and pulse evolution along the non-linear directional fiber coupler. To compare the performance of the all-optical half-adders, the figure of merit of the logic gates was used. All results were obtained numerically, considering a simple model for generation of an all-optical half-adder.     

Architectures and techniques for all-optical networks

Some recent results on all-optical packet-switching and broadcasting networks are presented. The performance evaluation problem of packet-switching transparent optical networks with deflection routing is addressed. Transmission error arguments show how, for a given optical bit rate, the size of an all-optical nonregenerative multishop network is limited by the accumulation of noise and distortion in the optical fiber channel. Time-domain multiple access techniques are exploited in novel architectures based on recently proposed all-optical sampling gates to realize the matching of the ultrahigh optical speed allowed by the large bandwidth of the fiber with the lower speed of the electronic components needed at the user ends. These architectures allow great simplification of the node structure in the considered all-optical multihop and broadcast networks.     

7-GHz high-repetition-rate mode-locked pulse generation using short-cavity phosphate glass fiber laser

A compact short-cavity high-repetition-frequency mode-locked fiber laser configured with Er³⁺/Yb³⁺ highly co-doped phosphate glass fiber and a graphene optical deposited film as saturable absorber is proposed and analyzed experimentally. The laser operates in stable mode-locked regime with fundamental repetition rate of 7.02 GHz. The output power is measured to be 1.2 mW with pump power around 80 mW, and the optical spectrum is centered about 1533.768 nm with mode spacing of 0.056 nm. As the pump power increases, the laser operates in multi-wavelength mode-locking emission state with the same longitude mode spacing. Moreover, the measure results show that different wavelength emission operates in different polarization states.     

The improvement of Nyquist pulse shaping for all-optical OFDM system in multi-users network

The all-optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing has a better spectral efficiency and a lower response requirement of modulators for high capacity transmission. In the system, the optical filter will degrade the performance of subcarriers which are far away from the center carrier. We proposed an improvement method of all-optical OFDM scheme using Nyquist pulse shape in the pulse source generator. Comparing a Nyquist shape pulse with a Gauss pulse in a 4 × 100 Gb/s DP-QPSK all-optical sampling OFDM system, the side lobe of transmitted spectrum can be effective suppressed, and the optical power will be more focused on the effective frequency band. By coherent receiver, the results show that the Nyquist pulse shaping can improve the OSNR and transmission performance of subcarriers which deviate mostly from the center frequency of optical filter. This improvement is of great benefit for multi-users system.     

160 km all-optical OFDM transmission system with inline chromatic dispersion compensation

An experimental demonstration of an all-optical sampling orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (AOS-OFDM) transmission system with inline chromatic dispersion (CD) compensation is carried out to test the nonlinear influence. With five subcarriers non-return-to-zero (NRZ) modulated, the total bit rate is 50 Gb/s without polarization multiplexing. The receiver end is highly simplified with direct detection using optical Fourier transform filter. After transmission in 160-km standard single-mode fiber (SSMF) link with 130-ps/nm residual CD, an optimum input optical power for the system performance is achieved.     

Optimum Compensator Positioning to Reduce Four-Wave Mixing in Wavelength Division Multiplexing Optical Communication Systems Using Dispersion-Managed Fibers

Abstract

The impact of the compensator's location along the optical fiber on a variation of four-wave mixing power penalty is investigated theoretically and numerically for dispersion-managed fibers in wavelength division multiplexing systems. The power penalty is analyzed for fibers with different attenuation coefficients and lengths, and the optimum positions for the compensator along the fiber is discussed in cases of both dispersion compensation of each fiber section between two amplifiers and whole-compensation.     

Single-Longitude-Mode Fiber Laser Implementation by Using Only Two Subring Cavities in Serial/Parallel Connection

ABSTRACT

By incorporating double-ring cavities and a piece of un-pumped Er³⁺-doped fiber (EDF) as a saturable absorber, we report a single-longitude-mode EDF fiber laser at C-band. The single-longitude-mode is obtained, the first time, by inserting only two subring cavities in either serial connection or parallel connection. The fiber laser has an optical signal-to-noise-ratio of 34.5 dB and a maximum power fluctuation of less than 1.3% for 1-hr operation. It was then modulated up to 10 Gbit/s by using an electro-optic modulator for eye diagrams, compared to back-to-back transmission. Such a compact and low-cost fiber laser is potential for high-speed optical communication.     

基于半导体光放大器的环路型全光缓存器中功率均衡的新方法

全光缓存器能够在光域内对数据包进行存储而不需经过光电光的变换,成为全光网的重要组成部分,其性能的优劣将直接影响到网络的丢包率等。但在半导体光放大器中交叉增益调制和交叉相位调制效应并存,导致基于半导体光放大器的环路型全光缓存器中缓存后输出的数据包与未缓存数据包的输出功率间存在不均衡,使得网络误码率增加。在详细分析全光缓存器工作原理的基础上,利用半导体光放大器中交叉增益调制和交叉相位调制并存的现象,巧妙地提出了将控制脉冲反相并配合电可调衰减器的新方法。该方法简单易行,有效解决了此类全光缓存器中数据包输出功率不均衡的难题,缓存器性能得到了极大改善。此方法适用于所有基于半导体光放大器的环路型全光缓存器。     

Worldwide activities and fiber optic market trends: Part I—markets

Abstract

This paper reviews the recent progress of fiber optics applications worldwide and assesses the potential market growth. Market growth will occur at the expense of existing or planned technologies, such as the circular waveguide, and hence, the potential market growth must be considered in light of these existing markets.

Although the application of fiber optics technology is developing rapidly, there are certain countries which are progressing more rapidly than others. Each of the major countries or groups will be discussed, and the reasons for the activity or lack thereof will be given. The impact of fiber optics on the third world is yet to be felt; however, this may be one of the areas of future potential growth.

In order to give the reader an indication of the extent of applications that have occurred in the telephone, data, power, CATV, and military sectors, a complete listing and review of over 100 experimental systems is provided in Part II of this paper.     

Bidirectional Wavelength Reconfigurable Module Based on Tunable Fiber Bragg Grating and Remote Pump Amplifier

Abstract

This article presents a novel bidirectional wavelength reconfigurable optical network utilizing a remotely pumped erbium-doped fiber amplifier and tunable fiber Bragg gratings. The system is experimentally demonstrated at a 10-Gb/s per channel over 20-km fiber span that verifies the metro-network range system performance. The achieved power penalty is less than 1 dB when compared to the back-to-back transmission link. An example of practical application where the proposed module is used as an add/drop multiplexer and a remote node in the bidirectional wavelength division multiplexing passive optical network system is described.