Introduction to DWDM

Optical Communication Systems

zdraer@mrv.com

What is Fiber Optics?

Transmission of communication signals in
the form of light over thin glass or plastic
(fiber).
Pulses of infrared light guided through glass
fiber move huge blocks of data over long or
short distances

Fiber Structure

Propagation of Light in a Fiber

Options for Increasing the Bandwidth

More Fibers

Installing new fibers

Same bit rate, more fibers
Very Expensive

Faster Electronics
(TDM*)

Increasing the bit rate

Higher bit rate, same fiber
Expensive and Complex Electronics

WDM*

Increasing the number of wavelengths

Same fiber and bit rate, more wavelengths

*TDM and WDM increase the effective capacity of the existing fiber

Time Division Multiplexing

Definition:

TDM is a type of multiplexing that transmits multiple signals

simultaneously over a single transmission path by assigning
each stream a different time slot

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH)

A standard for optical transport of TDM data
STM-1

155 Mbps

STM-64

10 Gbps

STM-4

622 Mbps

STM-256

40 Gbps

STM-16

2.5 Gbps
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TDM Limitations at Higher Bit Rate

Expensive and Complex Electronics

Complex Modulation
SNR Decreases
Very High Dispersion*

* Transmission at 40 Gbps (STM-256) over single-mode (SM) fiber is 16 times

more affected by dispersion than the transmission at 10 Gbps (STM-64).

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Definition:

Multiplexing several optical signals having different wavelengths

and transmitting simultaneously over a single fiber is known as
wavelength division multiplexing.
(WDM increases the carrying capacity of the physical medium (fiber)
using a completely different method from TDM)

TDM and WDM Comparison

Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)

Single wavelength per fiber

Multiple channels per fiber
E/O or O/E/O Conversion
Common signal format
Takes sync and async signals and multiplexes
them to a single higher optical bit rate

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Multiple wavelength per fiber (2, 4, 16, 64, etc.)

Multiple channels per fiber
No O/E Conversion
Can carry multiple protocols
Takes multiple optical signals and multiplexes
them in to a single fiber

WDM History

WDM Evolution
Faster (Higher speed per channel)
Thicker (More channels)
160 channels possible today

Longer (Link length before regeneration)

A few thousand km possible today

160 channels at 10 Gbps = 1.6 Tbps

25 million simultaneous phone calls

Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Fiber Performance
Attenuation
Definition:

Loss of signal power in a transmission

Dispersion
Definition:

Broadening of the pulses as they travel along the fiber over long
distances

The strength of a signal traveling through an optical fiber wakens with distance
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Fiber Attenuation Vs. Wavelength

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Dispersion Slope for Different Fibers

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Channel (Wavelength) Spacing

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The ITU-T Wavelength Grid

The ITU draft standard

G.692 defines point-to-point
WEM systems based on
100-GHz wavelength spacing
with a center wavelength of
1553.52 nm

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Optical Networking The DWDM

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DWDM Components - Transponder

DWDM Laser Distributed Feedback (DFB)

High performance telecommunication laser
Long-haul links & DWDM systems
Key characteristics
Mostly around 1550 nm
Total power 3 to 50 mw
Spectral width 10 to 100 MHz (0.08 to 0.8 pm)
Small NA (good coupling into fiber)
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DWDM Components Multiplexer & Demultiplexer

DWDM Multiplexer

DWDM Demultiplexer

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DWDM Components Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (OADM)

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DWDM Components Optical Amplifier (EDFA)

EDFA Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier

EDFA Construction
Simple device consisting of
four parts

Single wavelength per fiber

Multiple channels per fiber

E/O or O/E/O Conversion

Common signal format

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EDFA - Basics
Absorption
When light hits the atom, the electrons in the
lower energy state absorb the energy and
jump into higher energy state.

Spontaneous Emission
When an electron decays from a higher
energy state to a lower energy state, the
atom spontaneously emits the released light.

Absorption

Spontaneous Emission

Stimulated Emission

Stimulated Emission

When light hits the excited state electrons,

their orbits decay from higher to the lower
energy state and the atom releases the light
from the source and the additional light that
had been absorbed by the atom.
Same wavelength, direction, and phase
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EDFA - Operation
Dope a fiber with Erbium

Pump energy into the fiber.

Transmit and amplify the signal

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EDFA

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EDFA Input and Output Spectrum

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DWDM with EDFA

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EDFA Design Issues

The Main Parameters in the Design of an EDFA
Fiber glass material
Characteristics of the fiber
Erbium concentration profile
Erbium fiber length
Pump sources
Passive or active components such as couplers, isolators

Primary Design Goals

High gain
High output power
Low noise figure
Flatness of the gain spectrum
Reliability

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EDFA Applications
Booster Amplifier
EDFA is located with the transmitter and is used to boost the transmitter signal to a high level in
order to drive a long fiber.

In-Line Amplifier
In an in-line amplifier configuration, the EDFA is used to amplify the weakening signal for further
transmission down the line

Pre Amplifier
The pre-amplifier application is similar to in-line application. However, the EDFA is typically
located with the receiver to amplify the signal just prior to its reception.

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IP over DWDM

WDM-Based
Map Ethernet Directly to a Wavelength
1 GbE 1GBase-SX and 1 GBase-LX
- DWDM implements up to 120 km, cascaded EDFAs extend the reach to 1600+ km

10 GbE 10GBase-SR, 10 GBase-LR, and 10GBase-LX4

- DWDM implements up to 80 km, cascaded EDFAs extend the reach to 1000+ km

Increases the fiber capacity

Unidirectional and bi-directional wavelengths
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Protocol Transparency

SDH/SONET
ATM
IP
Fast Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
Fibre Channel
FDDI
ESCON

SDH/SONET
ATM
IP
Fast Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
Fibre Channel
FDDI
ESCON

Data rate and format adaptation without reconfiguration

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Network Management System

Network management is an essential element of communication
systems since it is responsible for ensuring the efficient, secure,
and continuous functioning of any network.
Functions of Network Management
Configuration Management
Fault Management
Performance Management
Accounting Management
Security Management

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NMS Functional Architecture

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DWDM Benefits
Capacity Increase

Large aggregate transmission capacity

Upgradability

Customer growth without requiring additional fiber to be laid

Flexibility

Optical Add/Drop Multiplexing (OADM)

Optical Cross Connect (OCC)

Scalability

The possibility to addnew nodes to the network

Network Transparency

Independence of data rate, format and protocols

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DWDM - Summary
DWDM provides enormous amounts of scalable transmission capacity
DWDM technology gives us the ability to expand fiber network rapidly to
meet growing demands of customer
The DWDM systems provide transparency to various bit rates and protocols
Utilizes the existing thin fiber
DWDM improves signal transmission
DWDM allows flexible add/drop of channels (OADMs)
Bi-directional communication using a single fiber can be achieved by the use of two
different wavelengths, one for each direction
Transmission over the longest possible distance with smallest number of optical
amplifiers
IP over DWDM
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We facilitate network operations, increase uptime and measure services

over any fiber optic network, at any speed, distance, scale
and application diversity

Thank You

Optical Communication Systems