Fundamentals of DWDM Technology

ZTE UNIVERSITY
English Training Manual Template

(V0610)
Fundamentals of DWDM Technology
Course Objectives:
·To master the purpose of DWDM networks and applicable
environments
·To master the fundamentals and key technologies of DWDM
Reference:
·Optical Wavelength Division Multiplexing System
·Modern Telecommunication Base and Technology
·Principle and Test of DWDM Transmission System

Contents
1 Introduction to DWDM ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Emergence and Background of DWDM ........................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Evolution of Multiplexing Technology in Optical Network .................................................. 1
1.1.2 Evolution of Transmission Technology in Optical Network (PDH, SDH and DWDM)........ 2
1.2 Overview of DWDM Technology..................................................................................................... 5
1.2.1 Comparison of Different Multiplexing Technologies............................................................. 5
1.2.2 Relationship Between DWDM and SDH............................................................................... 8
1.2.3 Introduction to Operating Wavelength ................................................................................. 10
1.3 Features and Advantages................................................................................................................. 16
1.4 Future Trends of DWDM Technology ............................................................................................ 17
2 Overview of Optical Fiber ....................................................................................................................... 21
2.1 Basic Knowledge of Optical Fiber .................................................................................................. 21
2.1.1 Structure of Optical Fiber..................................................................................................... 21
2.1.2 Classification of Optical Fiber ............................................................................................. 22
2.1.3 Working Frequency of Optical Fiber.................................................................................... 24
2.1.4 Types and Features of Common SMFs ................................................................................ 25
2.1.5 New Optical Fiber Types...................................................................................................... 26
2.2 Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber ................................................................................ 27
2.2.1 Loss ...................................................................................................................................... 27
2.2.2 Dispersion ............................................................................................................................ 29
2.2.3 Non-Linear Effect ................................................................................................................ 32
3 Key Technologies of DWDM System ...................................................................................................... 36
3.1 Basic Structure of DWDM System ................................................................................................. 36
i
3.2 Light Source Technology.................................................................................................................40
3.3 Wavelength Division Multiplexing/Demultiplexing Technology ....................................................42
3.3.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................42
3.3.2 Introduction to Optical Multiplexer ......................................................................................42
3.3.3 Main Performance Indices ....................................................................................................45
3.4 OTU Technology .............................................................................................................................47
3.4.1 Overview...............................................................................................................................47
3.4.2 Working Principle and Performance Indices.........................................................................48
3.4.3 Classification and Application of OTU.................................................................................51
3.5 Optical Amplifying Technology ......................................................................................................52
3.5.1 EDFA Technology.................................................................................................................52
3.5.2 Raman Amplification Technology ........................................................................................58
3.6 Supervision Technology ..................................................................................................................60
3.6.1 Functions of Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC)................................................................61
3.6.2 Requirements for OSC..........................................................................................................61
3.6.3 Implementation of OSC ........................................................................................................62
4 Protection Principles of DWDM System.................................................................................................65
4.1 Introduction to DWDM System Hierarchy......................................................................................65
4.2 1+1 Protection..................................................................................................................................66
4.2.1 1+1 Protection in Chain Network .........................................................................................67
4.2.2 1+1 Protection in Ring Network...........................................................................................68
4.2.3 Features of 1+1 Protection....................................................................................................69
4.3 1:N Protection..................................................................................................................................69
4.3.1 Working Principle .................................................................................................................69
4.3.2 Implementation of 1:N Protection ........................................................................................70
4.3.3 Features of Channel 1:N Protection......................................................................................71
ii
4.4 Two-Fiber Bidirectional Channel Shared Protection ...................................................................... 71
4.5 Two-Fiber Bidirectional MS Shared Protection .............................................................................. 73
Appendix A Abbreviations.......................................................................................................................... 77
-iii-
1 Introduction to DWDM
Key points
z Basic concepts and background of the DWDM technology
z Future trends of the DWDM technology
1.1 Emergence and Background of DWDM

The basic concepts of optical network are introduced before we start the study of the
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology. This section describes
the birth and background of DWDM based on two technologies: the multiplexing
technology and transmission technology.
1.1.1 Evolution of Multiplexing Technology in Optical Network
Various transmission mediums are applied in telecommunication networks, such as

twisted pair cables, coaxial cables, optical fiber and electromagnetic waves. The optical
fiber has the characteristics of great transmission capacity, high transmission quality,
low loss, confidentiality and long regeneration distance, etc.
With the constant development of wide-band and high-rate services in the information
era, not only larger capacity and longer distance, but also convenient and rapid
exchanges are needed for optical transmission systems. Then the multiplexing
technology is introduced into optical transmission systems. This technology enables the
transmission of multiple-channel signals through a single fiber or fiber cable with the
broad frequency band and large-capacity features of fibers. In transmission systems for
multiple signals, the multiplexing mode affects the performance and cost of the system
greatly.
The multiplexing technology of fiber optic transmission network has gone through
three development stages: Space Division Multiplexing (SDM), Time Division
Multiplexing (TDM), and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM).
The SDM technology features simple design and practicability. But it requires that the
quantity of fiber transmission cores must be configured in accordance with the quantity
1
of multiplexing channels, which results in poor investment profit. The TDM

technology is widely applied, which is the basis of Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
(PDH), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),
and IP technologies. Its disadvantage is the low utilization ratio of lines. The WDM
technology supports multiple wavelengths (channels) to be borne on one fiber. So, it is
the major means to expand the current fiber communication network capacity and is
mostly used in trunk network.
1.1.2 Evolution of Transmission Technology in Optical Network (PDH, SDH and

DWDM)
The traditional fiber optic transmission technologies, such as PDH and SDH, employ
the one-wavelength-in-one-fiber transmission mode. Due to the restriction caused by
the characteristics of their own components, neither the transmission capacity nor the
capacity expansion mode can meet the requirements of the rapid development of
communication networks, leaving the massive bandwidth resources of fibers far from
being fully exploited.
The DWDM technology allows the transmission of multiple wavelengths over a single
fiber, which has become the most economical and practical means for the fiber capacity
expansion. With its unique technical advantages, the DWDM technology becomes a
simple and economical means to expand the fiber transmission capacity in a rapid and
effective manner. It can fully meet the current needs of the network broadband service
development and lays a solid foundation for the development of the future fully-optical
transmission network.
The development process of PDH, SDH and DWDM, and the interface specifications
of each technology are briefly described as follows.
1. PDH
The early optical transmission system uses PDH, which introduced Pulse Code
Modulation (PCM) digital transmission technology based on the former analog
telephone network. It multiplexes signals at low rate level into high-speed
signals by means of bit stuffing and byte interleaving.
The signals of the primary group of the PDH system adopts the synchronous
TDM mode, and the multiplexing of other high-order groups adopts
plesiochronous (or called asynchronous) TDM mode.
2
Chapter 1 Introduction to DWDM
The PDH system includes three kinds of regional rate level standards
respectively for Europe, North America, and Japan, as listed in Table 1.1-1.
Table 1.1-1 PDH Bit Rate
Country/
Primary Group Secondary Group Tertiary Group Quartus Group
Region
8.448 Mbit/s 34.368 Mbit/s 139.264 Mbit/s
Europe and 2.048 Mbit/s
120 channels 480 channels 1920 channels
China 30 channels
(30×4) (120×4) (480×4)
North 1.544 Mbit/s
96 channels 672 channels 4032 channels
America 24 channels
(24×4) (96×7) (672×6)
1.544 Mbit/s
Japan 96 channels 480 channels 1440 channels
24 channels
(24×4) (96×5) (480×3)
From early 1970's to 1980's, the PDH system and devices were popularly used
in the digital network. However, along with the developing fiber communication
technology and user's increasing demands for communication services, the
disadvantages of PDH can not be ignored any longer.
1) The compatibility between the three rate standards is not available, which
obstructs the development of international interconnection.
2) There is no worldwide standard optical interface specification. Private optical

interfaces developed by different manufacturers are not compatible with each
other, which limits the networking flexibility and increases the network
complexity and operation costs.
3) PDH is a multiplexing structure based on the point-to-point transmission. It only

supports point-to-point transmission, but cannot accommodate complicated
networking.
4) The operation, management, and maintenance must depend upon manual digital
signal cross-connection and service-suspension test, which cannot meet the
monitoring and network management requirements of the modern
communication network.
5) Along with the rate increase, it is more and more difficult to implement
3
multiplexing of high-order groups through the PDH technology, and

requirements of fiber digital communication for large-capacity and super-high
speed transmission cannot be satisfied.
2. SDH
In mid-1980's, the Bell Communication Research Institute in USA put forward

the concept of Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). In 1988, the CCITT
(former ITU-T) accepted the SONET concept, and formed the worldwide
unified technology standard for transmission network, and renamed it as SDH.
The SDH signals use the synchronous multiplexing mode and a flexible
multiplexing and mapping structure. Code streams at different levels are
arranged regularly in the payload of the frame structure. The payload is
synchronous with the network, so the corresponding software can be used to
directly demultiplex a high-speed signal into the low-speed tributary signal at a
time, called “one-step” demultiplexing”.
The rate specifications of the SDH system are shown in Table 1.1-2.
Table 1.1-2 SDH Signal Levels
SDH Level (ITU-T) OC Level (SONET) Line Rate (Mbit/s)

STM-1 OC-3 155.520
STM-4 OC-12 622.080
STM-16 OC-48 2488.320
STM-64 OC-192 9953.280
SDH standardizes the features of the digital signals, such as frame structure,
multiplexing mode, transmission rate level, and interface code pattern. It
provides a frame that is supported globally, on which a world-class telecom
transmission network has been developed, featuring flexibility, reliability and
easy management. This kind of transmission network is easy to expand and
applicable to the development of the new telecom services. In addition, it makes
possible the interworking between the devices of different manufacturers.
When the transmission rate exceeds 10 Gbit/s, however, the system dispersion
and other negative influences increase difficulty of long-distance transmission.
Furthermore, the SDH system is the TDM system based on single wavelength.
4
The single-wavelength transmission cannot fully utilize the huge bandwidth of

fibers. Therefore, the WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology is
introduced in the backbone network, to greatly enlarge the transmission capacity
of fibers.
3. DWDM
DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) is one kind of WDM

technologies. By “dense”, this is because the interval of the adjacent
wavelengths is relatively small (1 nm to 10 nm). At present, the practical
DWDM system works in the 1550 nm window, for the convenience of using the
gain spectrum feature of the EDFA amplifier to directly amplify the composite
optical wavelength signals. To meet the transverse compatibility between
systems, the central wavelength of the optical channel must comply with the
ITU-T G.692 Recommendation.
In the DWDM system, each optical channel can bear different customer signals,
such as SDH signal, PDH optical signal and ATM signal.
Since the optical fiber communication and its networking technologies have
unique advantages in accommodating multi-service and broadband requirements,
the high-speed SDH system, N×2.5 Gbit/s and N×10 Gbit/s DWDM systems
have become the major part and backbone of the core network.
1.2 Overview of DWDM Technology

With the DWDM technology, multiple optical carriers with information (analog or
digital) can be transmitted on one fiber, and the capacity of transmission system can be
expanded easily by increasing wavelengths (channels). It combines (multiplexes)
optical signals with different wavelengths for transmission. At the receiving end, it
separates (de-multiplexes) the combined optical signals and then sends them to
corresponding communication terminals respectively. In other words, the DWDM
technology provides multiple virtual fiber channels on one physical fiber.
1.2.1 Comparison of Different Multiplexing Technologies
The following compares different multiplexing technologies commonly used in optical

transmission networks.
5
1. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
In the TDM mode, multiple-channel signals are transmitted in different time

spacing (time slots) through the same fiber. The TDM technology is widely used
in various systems, such as PDH, SDH, ATM and IP.
The advantage of TDM is that the fixed arrangement of time slots makes it
flexible to adjust and control these time slots. Thus the TDM mode is applicable
to the transmission of data information.
The drawback of the TDM mode is low utilization ratio of lines. When a signal
source has no data for transmission, its corresponding channel will be idle. At
the same time, other busy channels can not make use of this idle channel. And
due to the limitation of high-speed electron devices and modulation capability of
lasers, transmission systems with capacity over 40 Gbit/s can not be achieved.
Therefore, it is difficult to upgrade lines and expand the network capacity with
the TDM technology.
2. Space Division Multiplexing (SDM)
The SDM technology divides the space into different channels to implement
wavelength multiplexing. For example, more cores or fibers are involved in the
optical cable to form different channels.
The SDH performs optical intensity modulation to each channel of baseband

signals respectively. Each channel of signal is transmitted by one fiber, and
different channels will not affect each other, leading to best transmission
performance.
The SDM technology is easy for design and practice, but it requires that fiber
cores of certain number must be configured according to the channel quantity of
signals to be multiplexed. And this results in poor investment profit.
3. Sub-Carrier Multiplexing (SCM)
The SCM technology modulates multiple baseband signals into different

microwave carrier frequencies to implement the electrical Frequency Division
Multiplexing (FDM), and then uses this bit stream to modulate a single optical
carrier into the fiber. At the receiving end, the photoelectrical detector picks the
electrical FDM aggregate signals. And then different microwave carriers are
divided into original baseband signals with the microwave technology.
6
The SCM technology is mainly used in the Cable Television (CATV) multi-band
transmission system of access networks.
4. Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
The WDM technology enables a single fiber to carry multiple wavelength

(channel) systems, converting one fiber into multiple “virtual” fibers, each of
which works on different wavelengths independently. Due to its economical
efficiency and practicability, the WDM becomes the major wavelength
multiplexing technology widely used in current fiber communication networks.
The WDM is divided into three multiplexing modes: 1310 nm/1550 nm

wavelength multiplexing, Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM)
and DWDM.
1) 1310 nm/1550 nm wavelength multiplexing
In early 1970's, this multiplexing technology only used two wavelengths: one in
1310 nm window and the other in 1550 nm window. It implemented single-fiber
dual-window transmission through the WDM technology, which was the initial
wavelength division multiplexing case.
2) CWDM
The CWDM technology refers to the WDM technology with large spacing
(usually no less than 20 nm) between adjacent wavelengths. Generally, the
wavelength quantity is 4 or 8 (16 at most). The CWDM uses 1200 nm - 1700 nm
windows.
The cost of CWDM system is lower than DWDM because it adopts non-cooling
lasers and does not need optical amplifying components. The disadvantages of
CWDM are low capacity and short transmission distance. Therefore, the
CWDM technology is applicable to the communication situations with short
distance, broad bandwidth and dense access points, for example, the network
communication inside a building or between buildings.
3) DWDM
The DWDM technology refers to the WDM technology with small spacing
between adjacent wavelengths, with the operating wavelength in the 1550 nm
window. It can carry 8 - 160 wavelengths on one fiber, and is mainly used in
long-distance transmission systems.
7
1.2.2 Relationship Between DWDM and SDH
1. Relationship between DWDM and SDH on the transmission layer of optical

networks
Both the DWDM system and the SDH system belong to the transport network
layer. They are the transmission means established on the fiber transport
medium. Their relationship of them in the transport network is shown in Fig.
1.2-1.
Fig. 1.2-1 Relationship between DWDM and SDH in Transport Network
The SDH system implements multiplexing, cross-connection and networking on

the electrical channel layer. The WDM system implements multiplexing,
cross-connection and networking on the optical domain.
2. Multiplexing modes of DWDM and SDH for carrier signals
The SDH is a kind of TDM system based on single wavelength (one fiber
transmitting one wavelength channel). When the transmission rate exceeds
10 Gbit/s, the system dispersion and other negative influences will make the
long-distance transmission more difficult.
The DWDM technology simultaneously transmits multiple optical carrier

signals of different wavelengths in the same fiber, fully utilizing the bandwidth
resources of the fiber and increasing system transmission capacity.
8
3. Capability of DWDM to transmit signals of different types at the same time
The wavelengths used in the DWDM system are mutually separated and
unrelated with the formats of service signals. Therefore, each wavelength can
carry the optical signal with totally different features from the other one. In this
way, the DWDM can implement the hybrid transmission of various signals.
The relationship between DWDM system and some common services is shown
in Fig. 1.2-2.
IP
ATM SDH ATM Ethernet Other
SDH Open Optical Interfaces
DWDM
Fiber Physical Layer
Fig. 1.2-2 Relationship between DWDM and Common Services
4. Optical interface standards of DWDM and SDH signals
The optical interfaces of SDH devices should accord with the ITU-T G.957
recommendation, which does not specify the central operating wavelength.
The optical interfaces in DWDM systems must accord with the ITU-T G.692
recommendation, which specifies the reference frequency, channel spacing,
nominal central frequency (central wavelength), central frequency offset and
other parameters of each optical channel. Therefore, the DWDM system can be
either an open system or an integrated one.
· Open DWDM system: The transmitting side of the system provides the Optical
Transponder Unit (OTU) to converts the customer signals with non-standard
wavelength into the standard wavelength compliant with ITU-T G.692. The
"Open" means that the DWDM system has no special requirements for the
operating wavelength of input signals. For example, the signals are accessed
through “Open Optical Interfaces” as shown in Fig. 1.2-2.
9
· Integrated DWDM system: All the customer signals accessed to the DWDM
system must comply with ITU-T G.692. For example, some signals are accessed
to the DWDM system not through “Open Optical Interfaces” as shown in Fig.
1.2-2.
5. Integrated application of DWDM and SDH
The transmission capacity of fiber networks can be effectively improved through

the integrated application of DWDM and SDH.
1.2.3 Introduction to Operating Wavelength
1.2.3.1 Operating Wavelength Range
The quartz fiber has three low-loss windows: 860 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm, as shown
in Fig. 1.2-3.
O: Original Band E: Extend Band S: Short Band C: Conventional Band L: Long Band
Fig. 1.2-3 Low-Loss Windows in Fiber Communication
1. 860 nm window
The wavelength range is 600 nm - 900 nm. It is always used in multi-mode fiber,
and the transmission loss is large (2 dB/km averagely). The 860 nm window is
applicable to short-distance access networks, such as for Fiber Channel (FC)
services.
10
2. 1310 nm window
The lower limit of available wavelengths in this window depends on the fiber
cut-off wavelength and attenuation coefficient, while the upper limit depends on
the OH absorption peak at 1385 nm. The operating wavelength range is 1260 nm
- 1360 nm. The average loss is 0.3 dB/km - 0.4 dB/km.
The 1310 nm window is applicable to intra-office, short-distance and

long-distance communication of STM-N signals (N = 1, 4 or 16).
Multi-longitudinal mode lasers (MLM) and Light Emitting Diodes (LED) can be
adopted as light sources.
Since the broadband optical amplifier working in 1310 nm window is not

available at present, this window is not suitable for the DWDM system.
3. 1550 nm window
The lower limit of available wavelengths in this window depends on the OH

absorption peak at 1385 nm, while the upper limit depends on infrared
absorption loss and bending loss. The operating wavelength range is 1460 nm -
1625 nm. The average loss is 0.19 dB/km - 0.25 dB/km.
The loss in the 1550 nm window is the lowest, so it can be applied to

short-distance and long-distance communication of SDH signals. In addition, the
commonly used Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) has sound gain flatness
in this window, so the 1550 nm window is applicable to the DWDM system as
well.
The operating wavelength in the 1550 nm window is divided into three parts (S
band, C band and L band), with the wavelength range shown in Fig. 1.2-4.
Fig. 1.2-4 Division of Operating Wavelength in 1550 Window
1) S band (1460 nm - 1530 nm): Since the operating wavelength range of EDFA is
in C band or L band, S band is not used in the DWDM system at present.
11
2) C band (1530 nm - 1565 nm): It is often used as the operating wavelength area
of DWDM systems under 40 wavelengths (with channel spacing 100 GHz),
DWDM systems under 80 wavelengths (with channel spacing 50 GHz) and
SDH systems.
3) L band (1565 nm - 1625 nm): Operating wavelength area of DWDM systems

above 80 wavelengths. In this case, the channel spacing is 50 GHz.
1.2.3.2 Operating Wavelength Area of DWDM Systems
Based on the quantity of multiplexing channel and frequency spacing, the system of 40
wavelengths or below, 80-wavelength system and 160-wavelength system are
introduced respectively as follows.
1. 8/16/32/40-wavelength system
Operating wavelength range: C band (1530 nm - 1565 nm)
Frequency range: 192.1 THz - 196.0 THz
Channel spacing: 100 GHz
Central frequency offset: ±20 GHz (at rate lower than 2.5 Gbit/s); ±12.5 GHz (at
rate 10 Gbit/s)
2. 80-wavelength system
Operating wavelength range: C band (1530 nm - 1565 nm)
Frequency range: C band (192.1 THz - 196.0 THz)
Central channel offset: ±5 GHz
3. 160-wavelength system
Operating wavelength range: C band (1530 nm - 1565 nm) + L band (1565 nm -

1625 nm)
Frequency range: C band (192.1 THz - 196.0 THz) + L band (190.90 THz -
186.95 THz)
Central frequency offset: ±5 GHz
12
1.2.3.3 Operating Wavelength Allocation in DWDM Systems
The operating wavelength of the DWDM system, complying with ITU-T

Recommendation G.692, adopts the specific central wavelength and central frequency
values in the multi-channel system.
1. The wavelength allocation in 40-wavelength system based on C-band with

wavelength spacing of 100 GHz is listed in Table 1.2-1.
Table 1.2-1 Wavelength Allocation of 40CH/100 GHz Spacing on C Band
Wavelength No. Central Frequency (THz) Wavelength (nm)

1 192.1 1560.61
2 192.2 1559.79
3 192.3 1558.98
4 192.4 1558.17
5 192.5 1557.36
6 192.6 1556.55
7 192.7 1555.75
8 192.8 1554.94
9 192.9 1554.13
10 193.0 1553.33
11 193.1 1552.52
12 193.2 1551.72
13 193.3 1550.92
14 193.4 1550.12
15 193.5 1549.32
16 193.6 1548.51
17 193.7 1547.72
18 193.8 1546.92
19 193.9 1546.12
20 194.0 1545.32
21 194.1 1544.53
22 194.2 1543.73
23 194.3 1542.94
24 194.4 1542.14
25 194.5 1541.35
26 194.6 1540.56
27 194.7 1539.77
28 194.8 1538.98
29 194.9 1538.19
30 195.0 1537.40
31 195.1 1536.61
32 195.2 1535.82
33 195.3 1535.04
34 195.4 1534.25
35 195.5 1533.47
36 195.6 1532.68
13
Wavelength No. Central Frequency (THz) Wavelength (nm)

37 195.7 1531.90
38 195.8 1531.12
39 195.9 1530.33
40 196.0 1529.55
2. The wavelength allocation for C/C+ band in 80-wavelength system with

Table 1.2-2 Wavelength Allocation of 80CH/50 GHz Spacing on C/C+ Band
Nominal Nominal Nominal Nominal

Wavelength Central Central Wavelength Central Central
No. Frequency Wavelength No. Frequency Wavelength
(THz) (nm) (THz) (nm)
1 196.05 1529.16 41 194.05 1544.92
2 196.00 1529.55 42 194.00 1545.32
3 195.95 1529.94 43 193.95 1545.72
4 195.90 1530.33 44 193.90 1546.12
5 195.85 1530.72 45 193.85 1546.52
6 195.80 1531.12 46 193.80 1546.92
7 195.75 1531.51 47 193.75 1547.32
8 195.70 1531.90 48 193.70 1547.72
9 195.65 1532.29 49 193.65 1548.11
10 195.60 1532.68 50 193.60 1548.51
11 195.55 1533.07 51 193.55 1548.91
12 195.50 1533.47 52 193.50 1549.32
13 195.45 1533.86 53 193.45 1549.72
14 195.40 1534.25 54 193.40 1550.12
15 195.35 1534.64 55 193.35 1550.52
16 195.30 1535.04 56 193.30 1550.92
17 195.25 1535.43 57 193.25 1551.32
18 195.20 1535.82 58 193.20 1551.72
19 195.15 1536.22 59 193.15 1552.12
20 195.10 1536.61 60 193.10 1552.52
21 195.05 1537.00 61 193.05 1552.93
22 195.00 1537.40 62 193.00 1553.33
23 194.95 1537.79 63 192.95 1553.73
24 194.90 1538.19 64 192.90 1554.13
25 194.85 1538.58 65 192.85 1554.54
26 194.80 1538.98 66 192.80 1554.94
27 194.75 1539.37 67 192.75 1555.34
28 194.70 1539.77 68 192.70 1555.75
29 194.65 1540.16 69 192.65 1556.15
30 194.60 1540.56 70 192.60 1556.55
31 194.55 1540.95 71 192.55 1556.96
32 194.50 1541.35 72 192.50 1557.36
14

33 194.45 1541.75 73 192.45 1557.77
34 194.40 1542.14 74 192.40 1558.17
35 194.35 1542.54 75 192.35 1558.58
36 194.30 1542.94 76 192.30 1558.98
37 194.25 1543.33 77 192.25 1559.39
38 194.20 1543.73 78 192.20 1559.79
39 194.15 1544.13 79 192.15 1560.20
40 194.10 1544.53 80 192.10 1560.61
3. The wavelength allocation for L/L+ band in 80-wavelength system with

Table 1.2-3 Wavelength Allocation of 80CH/50 GHz Spacing on L/L+ Band

1 190.90 1570.42 41 188.90 1587.04
2 190.85 1570.83 42 188.85 1587.46
3 190.80 1571.24 43 188.80 1587.88
4 190.75 1571.65 44 188.75 1588.30
5 190.70 1572.06 45 188.70 1588.73
6 190.65 1572.48 46 188.65 1589.15
7 190.60 1572.89 47 188.60 1589.57
8 190.55 1573.30 48 188.55 1589.99
9 190.50 1573.71 49 188.50 1590.41
10 190.45 1574.13 50 188.45 1590.83
11 190.40 1574.54 51 188.40 1591.26
12 190.35 1574.95 52 188.35 1591.68
13 190.30 1575.37 53 188.30 1592.10
14 190.25 1575.78 54 188.25 1592.52
15 190.20 1576.20 55 188.20 1592.95
16 190.15 1576.61 56 188.15 1593.37
17 190.10 1577.03 57 188.10 1593.79
18 190.05 1577.44 58 188.05 1594.22
19 190.00 1577.86 59 188.00 1594.64
20 189.95 1578.27 60 187.95 1595.06
21 189.90 1578.69 61 187.90 1595.49
22 189.85 1579.10 62 187.85 1595.91
23 189.80 1579.52 63 187.80 1596.34
24 189.75 1579.93 64 187.75 1596.76
25 189.70 1580.35 65 187.70 1597.19
15

26 189.65 1580.77 66 187.65 1597.62
27 189.60 1581.18 67 187.60 1598.04
28 189.55 1581.60 68 187.55 1598.47
29 189.50 1582.02 69 187.50 1598.89
30 189.45 1582.44 70 187.45 1599.32
31 189.40 1582.85 71 187.40 1599.75
32 189.35 1583.27 72 187.35 1600.17
33 189.30 1583.69 73 187.30 1600.60
34 189.25 1584.11 74 187.25 1601.03
35 189.20 1584.53 75 187.20 1601.46
36 189.15 1584.95 76 187.15 1601.88
37 189.10 1585.36 77 187.10 1602.31
38 189.05 1585.78 78 187.05 1602.74
39 189.00 1586.20 79 187.00 1602.17
40 188.95 1586.62 80 186.95 1603.57
1.3 Features and Advantages

1. Fully utilizing fiber bandwidth resources and featuring high transmission
capacity
The DWDM technology makes full use of the huge bandwidth (about 25 THz)
resource of fibers and thus expands the transmission capacity of the system.
2. Super-long transmission distance
Through EDFA and other super-long distance transmission technologies, signals

of multiple channels in the DWDM system can be amplified at the same time to
support the long-distance transmission.
3. Abundant service access types
The wavelengths in the DWDM system are separated to each other, and thus are
capable of transmitting different services transparently, such as SDH, GbE and
ATM signals, to implement the hybrid transmission of multiple kinds of signals.
4. Saving fiber resources
The DWDM system multiplexes multiple single-channel wavelengths for

transmission in one fiber, greatly saving fiber resource and reducing line
construction cost.
16
5. Smooth upgrading and expansion
Since the DWDM system transmits the data in each wavelength channel
transparently and does no process the channel data, the capacity of the system
can be expanded conveniently and practically only by adding more multiplexing
wavelength channels.
6. Fully utilizing mature upper layer transport network technology
At present, the optical transport technologies in TDM mode, such as ATM,

Ethernet and SDH, have been well developed. Through the WDM technology,
the transmission capacity can be enlarged by several times or even dozens of
times, with expansion cost lower than that in the TDM mode.
7. Important base for all optical network construction
The all optical network is the development trend of the optical transport network.
In such network, the WDM system is connected to Optical Add/Drop
Multiplexers (OADMs) and Optical Cross-connection (OXC) devices, directly
adding/dropping or cross-connecting services carried by the optical wavelength
signals. In this way, the all optical network with high flexibility, reliability,
survivability and economical efficiency is formed to meet the requirements of
information society for the broadband transport network in the future.
1.4 Future Trends of DWDM Technology

1. Higher channel rate
The channel rate of the DWDM system has developed to 10 Gbit/s from 2.5
Gbit/s, and the system at 40 Gbit/s rate is in experimentation and the technology
becomes more and more mature.
2. More wavelengths to be multiplexed
The DWDM system at early phase usually adopts 8/16/32 wavelengths with
channel spacing 100 GHz and the operating wavelength is in C band. Along with
the constant development of DWDM technology, the operating wavelength can
cover C and L bands with the spacing 50 GHz.
ZTE's ZXWM M900 DWDM Optical Transmission System can support the
multiplexing of 160 wavelengths at most.
17
3. Super-long all optical transmission distance
The initial construction cost and operation cost for the network can be reduced
through extending all optical transmission and reducing electrical regeneration
nodes.
Traditional DWDM systems use EDFA to extend the passive regeneration

transmission distance. At present, this distance can be extended from 600 km to
above 2000 km, through distributed Raman amplifier and enhanced Forward
Error Correction (FEC) technology, dispersion management technology, optical
equalization technology and effective modulation formats.
4. Network developed from toll network to metro area network
At earlier time, only the high-rate SDH services can be accessed to the DWDM
system. With the development of DWDM technology, both SDH services at
various rate and IP services can be accessed via the continuous-rate service
access board, subrate convergence board and GE service access board. All these
make the DWDM system satisfy the requirements of metro area networks for
service access.
The network element Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (OADM) can implement

the adding/dropping of services flexibly. It also supports the smooth expansion
of the network. During the network construction, boards in the equipment can be
configured according to current traffics. When the demand for traffics increases,
the network can be expanded and upgraded smoothly by the combination of
multiple OADMs in series, parallel, or series-parallel mode. The DWDM
technology provides broad expansion space with lower cost.
In addition, the OADM equipment can implement the protection and recovery of
optical layer services by constructing chain or ring optical networks. It can
implement the protection based on chain networks, such as optical multiplex
section 1+1 protection, optical channel 1+1 protection and optical channel 1:N
protection, and the protection based on ring networks, such as two-fiber
bidirectional multiplex section protection, two-fiber bidirectional channel shared
protection and channel 1+1 protection. The DWDM technology provides a
perfect protection mechanism for services in metro area networks, especially for
GE services, and thus improves the network reliability greatly.
Therefore, more and more DWDM systems are adopted in the construction of
18
metro area networks and local backbone networks. ZTE’s ZXMP M800 with
various service interfaces and perfect network protection mechanism, which can
implement the effective convergence of services and smooth expansion, is just
the product of this development trend.
5. Evolving from point-to-point WDM to full optical network
Many early DWDM transmission systems adopt the networking mode of

point-to-point or chain, which is mainly used for toll backbone. These toll
DWDM transmission systems always use the back-to-back DWDM backbone
transmission structure with 3R (Reshaping, Retiming, and Regenerating). In this
structure, lots of Optical Transponder Units (OTUs) are used, which leads to
high construction and maintenance cost, low network flexibility, too many
Optical/Electrical/Optical (O/E/O) conversions, low circuit assignment speed,
and high system fault ratio. This structure will not be adaptive to future
automatic switching transmission networks.
At present, in metro area network DWDM transmission networks, OADM

equipment transfer optical signals of different wavelength channel to
corresponding terminal. They can implement the adding/dropping and
straight-through of wavelengths carrying services. The OADM is divided into
the fixed wavelength add/drop multiplexer and the 100% dynamical add/drop
multiplexer (Rearrangable OADM, ROADM). The fixed wavelength OADM
can add/drop 20% - 40% of the input wavelengths; while some can add/drop all
wavelengths. The ROADM has two kinds of structure, the broadcast/selection
one and the demultipexing/cross-connect multiplexing one. The crucial parts of
the ROADM include the cross-connect unit, wavelength disabler, tunable filter
and tunable laser etc. The ROADM can add/drop unfixed wavelengths. The
networking of OADM equipment is flexible, which can implement chain, ring,
and cross networking.
The Optical Cross-Connect (OXC) is the route switch of next generation optical
communication. In the full optical network, it provides these functions:
connection function based on wavelengths, wavelengths add/drop function of
optical channels, leading the wavelength channels for the sake of best utilization
of fiber infrastructure, and implementing protection and restoration on
wavelength, wavelength group and fiber levels. The OXC is set at the important
tandem point of the network, converging different wavelengths input from
19
different directions and then output signals with proper wavelengths. Through
OADM and OXC, we can construct more complicated ring network. In the next
generation IP Over DWDM telecom/network architecture, the OXC is an
important stage in the future development of WDM technology.
20
2 Overview of Optical Fiber
Key points
z Basic knowledge of optical fiber, including structure, classification, application

frequency, types and features
z Transmission characteristics of optical fiber
2.1 Basic Knowledge of Optical Fiber
2.1.1 Structure of Optical Fiber
Optical fiber is a kind of cylinder glass fiber with a good light conducting performance
and a small diameter. It consists of fiber core, cladding, and coating layer, as shown in
Fig. 2.1-1.
Coating
Cladding Fiber core
n2 n1
n1: Refractive index of fiber core
n2: Refractive index of cladding
Fig. 2.1-1 Structure of Optical Fiber
1. Fiber core
It is mainly made of SiO2 (quartz) and comprises few doped chemical, such as
GeO2, to improve refractive index (n1) of the fiber core. The diameter of the
fiber core usually ranges from 5 μm to 50 μm.
2. Cladding
It is made of pure SiO2, with the outer diameter of 125 μm. The refractive index
21
(n2) of cladding is less than that (n1) of the fiber core.
3. Coating
It is made of macromolecule materials, such as epoxide resin and silicone rubber.

The outer diameter is about 250 μm. The addition of coating improves the
flexibility, mechanical strength, and aging-resistance features of the optical fiber.
2.1.2 Classification of Optical Fiber
This section introduces three classification methods of optical fiber, in terms of the
distribution pattern of refractive index, fiber material and transmission mode.
1. Classification according to the distribution pattern of refractive index
When a beam of light is transferred through a fiber, each incident ray arrives at
the interface between the fiber core and the cladding by a proper angle. Since
the refractive index of the fiber core (n1) is larger that that of the cladding (n2),
the light will be reflected totally in the fiber core repeatedly on the interface if
the reflection angle meets the total internal reflection condition. In this case, the
light travels forward along a “Z” path, which forms the transmission wave. All
the light energy is constrained within the fiber core.
According to the radial distribution of refractive index on the section of fiber,

optical fibers are classified into step index fiber and grade index fiber.
Fig. 2.1-2 illustrates the relationship between the refractive index and the fiber
structure, as well as the transmission path of light in the fibers.
n2 Cladding Fiber Light

core
n1
a. Step Index Fiber
22
Chapter 2 Overview of Optical Fiber
n2 Cladding Fiber Light

core
n1
b. Grade Index Fiber
Fig. 2.1-2 Comparison Between Step Index Fiber and Grade Index Fiber
2. Classification according to fiber material
According to the materials of fibers, optical fibers are classified into silica fiber,
various glass fibers containing different ingredients, plastic-clad silica fiber with
a silica-based core and a plastic cladding, and all plastic optical fiber with a
plastic core as well as a plastic cladding etc.
Among these fiber types, the silica fibers have less loss than the other fibers.
Generally, the fibers with great loss are only employed in short-distance systems
in buildings or rooms.
3. Classification according to the transmission mode of fiber
Light is a kind of electromagnetic wave. Therefore, the transmission of light

through fiber should meet not only the total-reflection condition between the
fiber core and cladding, but also the coherence enhancement condition for
electromagnetic wave during the transmission process.
For a specific fiber structure, only a series of certain electromagnetic waves can
be effectively transmitted in the fiber. Such specific electromagnetic wave is
called optical fiber mode. In the fiber, the conductible mode quantity depends on
the structure and refractive index radial distribution of the fiber.
If a fiber supports only one conduction mode (base mode), it is called

Single-Mode Fiber (SMF). The core of a single-mode fiber can only carry one
channel of light. If a fiber supports multiple conduction modes, it is called
Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF). In a multi-mode fiber, each channel of light uses a
transmission mode.
Table 2.1-1 explains the differences between SMF and MMF.
23
Table 2.1-1 Differences Between SMF and MMF
Fiber
SMF MMF
Item
Transmission Only supports the transmission in base Supports multiple conduction
mode mode modes
Fiber core Small (about 5 μm - 10 μm) Large (about 50 μm)
The dispersion of SMF is mainly MMF has great mode dispersion
caused by the transmission rates of due to different transmission rates
Dispersion different frequency elements in optical of different modes, which directly
signal, which increases along with the affects the transmission bandwidth
spectral width of the optical signal. and transmission distance.
Ordinary SMF, Dispersion Shifted
Type Fiber (DSF) and Dispersion Ordinary MMF
Compensation Fiber (DCF)
Working
1310 nm and 1550 nm 850 nm and 1310 nm
window
Short-distance fiber
Long-distance fiber communication
Applications communication systems at low
systems with large capacity
rate
2.1.3 Working Frequency of Optical Fiber
With the improvement of fiber manufacturing techniques, the fiber transmission loss
keeps decreasing. At present, there are five low-loss windows, as shown in Fig. 2.1-3.
3.0
140
~
THz
2.5 50
~
OH-Absorption THz
2.0 peak OH-
Loss Absorption
(dB/km) peak
1.5
I OH- II V III IV
Absorption
1.0 peak
0.5
O E S C L
0 80 100 120 140 160
0 0 0 0 0
Wavelength (nm)
O: Original Band E: Extended Band S: Short Band C: Conventional Band L: Long Band
Fig. 2.1-3 Division of Low-Loss Windows
24
Table 2.1-2 lists the optical signal mark, wavelength range, applied fiber types and
application occasions of the five low-loss windows: I, II, III, IV and V.
Table 2.1-2 Comparison Between Low-Loss Windows
Item Wavelength Application

Mark (nm) Fiber Type
Window Range (nm) Scope
I 850 600-900 MMF Short distance
II 1310 (O band) 600-900 MMF/G.652/G.653 and low rate
III 1550 (C band) 1530-1565 G.652/G.653/G.655
IV 1600 (L band) 1565-1625 G.652/G.653/G.655 Long distance

and high rate
1360-1530
V 1360-1530 Full-wave fiber
(E+S band)
2.1.4 Types and Features of Common SMFs
This section briefly introduces the features and functions of three kinds of SMFs, G.652,
G.653 and G.655. The fiber types applied in the DWDM systems are also involved.
1. G.652 (ordinary SMF)
It is also called dispersion non-shifted SMF, applied in 1310 nm and 1550 nm

windows. In the 1310 nm window, it has dispersion close to zero. In the 1550nm
window, its loss is the smallest with the dispersion of 17 ps/km·nm.
When the G.652 fiber is used in the 1310 nm window, it is only applicable to
SDH systems; while it is applicable to both SDH systems and DWDM systems
when it is used in the 1550 nm window. The dispersion compensation is needed
when the single channel rate is over 2.5 Gbit/s.
2. G.653 (dispersion shifted SMF)
The G.653 fiber has the smallest loss and the smallest dispersion in the 1550 nm
window. Therefore, it mainly works in the 1550 nm window.
It is applicable to high-rate and long-distance single-wavelength communication

systems. When the DWDM technology is used, the serious non-linear Four
Wave Mixing (FWM) problem will occur in the zero-dispersion wavelength area,
which leads to signal attenuation in multiplexing channels and channel crosstalk.
25
3. G.655 (non-zero dispersion shifted SMF)
In the 1550 nm window, the absolute dispersion of G.655 fiber is within a certain
range instead of zero. It ensures the smallest loss and small dispersion in this
window.
It is applicable to high-rate and long-distance optical communication systems. In

addition, because the non-zero dispersion suppresses the influence of non-linear
FWM over DWDM system, this kind of fiber is usually used in DWDM
systems.
2.1.5 New Optical Fiber Types
The features and applications of some new-type fibers are introduced below.
1. G.654 (lowest attenuation SMF)
The G.654 fiber works in the 1550 nm window with the average loss of
0.15dB/km - 0.19dB/km, which is less than that of other fibers. Its
zero-dispersion point is also in the 1310 nm window.
It is mainly applicable to optical transmission systems with long regeneration

distance. The G.654 fiber with lowest attenuation meets the requirements of
long-haul communication through submarine optical fiber cables. The dispersion
of G654 fiber in 1.3 μm wavelength area is zero, while the dispersion in 1.55 μm
is larger (17 ps/km·nm - 20 ps/km·nm).
2. Full-wave fiber
The full-wave fiber, water peak free fiber, eliminates the appended water peak
attenuation caused by the OH- ions by eliminating OH- ions near the 1385 nm
wavelength. In this way, the fiber attenuation is only determined by the internal
scattering loss of the silicon glass.
Full-wave fiber is numbered as G.652 C&D in ITU-T Recommendations. It is

one kind of G.652 fiber. Its full name is wavelength-expanded dispersion
non-shifted single-mode fiber.
The attenuation of the full-wave fiber becomes flat at the band of 1310 nm-
1600 nm. As internal OH- ions are already eliminated, no water peak attenuation
will occur even when the fiber is exposed to hydrogen gas. It has the long-term
attenuation reliability.
26
The full-wave optical fiber can provide a complete transmission band from 1280
nm to 1625 nm. The available wavelength range is about 1.5 times of the
wavelength range of ordinary fibers.
3. Real-wave fiber
The real-wave fiber is a kind of non-zero dispersion shifted single-mode fiber

(G.655 fiber) widely used at present. Its fiber characteristics are similar to those
of G.655 fiber. The zero dispersion point is in short-wavelength area below 1530
nm. In 1549 nm - 1561 nm band, the dispersion coefficient is 2.0ps/nm·km -
3.0ps/nm·km.
The real-wave fiber has small dispersion slope and dispersion coefficient with
the capability of tolerating higher non-linear effect. It is applicable to
large-capacity optical transmission systems, and thus reducing the network
construction cost.
4. Fiber with large effective fiber core area
It also belongs to non-zero dispersion shifted single-mode fiber (G.655 fiber).

Essentially, it improves non-linear resistance capability of the system.
The main performance of super-speed system is limited by dispersion and

non-linear effect. Usually, dispersion can be eliminated through dispersion
compensation. But the non-linear effect cannot be eliminated through linear
compensation. The effective area of the fiber determines the fiber non-linear
effect. Larger effective area means higher optical power affordable, that is,
better resistance to non-linear effect.
2.2 Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber
2.2.1 Loss
The loss of power during transmission is one of the basic and important parameters of
optical fibers. Due to the existence of loss, the optical power transmitted in fibers
attenuates by index with the increase of transmission distance.
1. Cause of optical fiber loss and low-loss window
The loss of optical fiber mainly comes from the following two causes:
1) Loss coming from the optical fiber itself, including the inherent absorption loss
27
of fiber materials, absorption loss of material impurity (especially the loss

caused by the remained OH- component in the optical fiber), Rayleigh scattering
loss, as well as the scattering loss caused by inperfect fiber structure.
2) Since optical cables are made of a bundle of clustered optical fibers, the layout
of optical cables, connection of optical fibers, and coupling and connection of
the transmission system may all cause the additional loss of fibers, including
bending loss, microbending loss, coupling loss in the optical fiber line, and
coupling loss between optical components.
The fiber attenuation spectrum is shown in Fig. 2.1-3. As shown in the figure,
the average loss of window I is 2 dB/km, that of window II is 0.3dB/km to
0.4dB/km, and that of window III is 0.19dB/km to 0.25dB/km. The 1380 nm
point in window V is an OH- absorption peak.
2. The line losses of common SMFs are listed in Table 2.2-1.
Table 2.2-1 Loss of Common SMFs
Fiber Type G.652 G.653 G.655

Typical loss
0.3dB/km-0.4dB/km - -
(1310 nm)
Typical loss
0.15dB/km-0.25dB/km 0.19dB/km-0.25dB/km 0.19dB/km-0.25dB/km
(1550 nm)
Working window 1310 nm and1550 nm 1550 nm 1550 nm
3. Relationship between loss and Optical Signal-to-Noise Ratio (OSNR)
OSNR is the ratio between optical signal power and noise power. It is a very
important parameter for estimating and measuring the system bit error
performance, engineering design and maintenance.
Take the OSNR at the receiving end of a DWDM system for example. The
calculation formula is:
OSNR= Pout - 10 log M - L + 58 - NF - 10 log N
Where,
Pout: the input optical power (dBm)
M: Number of multiplexing channels of the DWDM system
28
L: Loss between any two optical amplifiers, that is, section loss (dB)
NF: Noise figure of EDFA (dB)
N: Number of optical amplifiers between optical multiplexer and optical

demultiplexer of the DWDM system.
The formula shows that when the other parameters keep unchanged, greater line
loss leads to lower OSNR, which means decreased transmission quality of the
optical line.
In the initial design of a DWDM system, besides the loss limit and dispersion
limit, the OSNR at the receiving end, Q value and Bit Error Ratio (BER) should
also be considered. The design is qualified only when all these three factors
satisfy the requirements.
2.2.2 Dispersion
After the incidence optical pulse signal has been transmitted through a long distance,
time spreading occurs on the optical pulse waveform at the output end of the fiber. This
phenomenon is called dispersion. Fig. 2.2-1 illustrates the dispersion in a Single-Mode
Fiber (SMF) for example.
Optical
power Optical power
SMF
Time Time
Emergent optical pulse
ncident optical pulse waveform
waveform
Fig. 2.2-1 Dispersion in SMF
Dispersion will cause inter-symbol interference, affect the correct judgment of optical
pulse signal at the receiving end, deteriorate the BER performance and severely affect
the information transmission.
Dispersion in the SMF is mainly caused by different transmission rates of different

frequency components in the optical signal. This kind of dispersion is called chromatic
dispersion. In the area where the chromatic dispersion is negligible, the polarization
mode dispersion is the major part of SMF dispersion.
29
2.2.2.1 Chromatic Dispersion
1. Brief introduction to chromatic dispersion
Chromatic dispersion includes material dispersion and wave-guide dispersion.
1) Material dispersion: The fiber material of quartz glass has different refractive
indexes for different optical wavelengths; while light source has certain spectral
width, and different wavelengths result in different group rates. Therefore, the
optical pulse spreading occurs.
2) Wave-guide dispersion: For a transmission mode of the fiber, it is the pulse

spreading caused by different group rates in different optical wavelengths. This
dispersion is related to the wave-guide effect of fiber structure, so it is also
called structure dispersion.
Material dispersion is greater than wave-guide dispersion. According to the

dispersion calculation formula, the material dispersion at a specific wavelength
may be zero, and this wavelength is called the zero dispersion wavelength of the
material. Fortunately, this wavelength is in the low-loss window near 1310 nm.
For example, G.652 fiber is the zero dispersion fiber.
Although the optical components are much affected by dispersion, there is a

tolerable maximum dispersion value (dispersion tolerance). As long as the
generated dispersion is within the tolerance, normal transmission can be
ensured.
2. Influence of chromatic dispersion
Chromatic dispersion will result in pulse spreading and chirp effect.
1) Pulse spreading: It is the major influence of fiber dispersion on the system

performance. When the transmission distance is longer than the fiber dispersion
length, the pulse spreading is too large. At this time, the system will generate
serious inter-symbol interference and bit errors.
2) Chirp effect: Dispersion not only results in pulse spreading but also makes pulse
to generate phase modulation. Such phase modulation makes different parts of
the pulse to generate different offsets from the central frequency, so that
different parts have different frequencies, which is called Chirp effect of pulse.
Due to chirp effect, the fiber is divided into normal dispersion fiber and
abnormal dispersion fiber. In the normal dispersion fiber, the high-frequency
30
component of the pulse is located at the rear edge of the pulse, and the
low-frequency component is located at the front edge of the pulse. In the
abnormal dispersion fiber, the low-frequency component of the pulse is located
at the rear edge of the pulse, and the high-frequency component is located at the
front edge of the pulse. In the transmission line, proper usage of these two fibers
can offset the chirp effect and remove the pulse dispersion spreading.
Since the DWDM system mostly works in the 1550 nm window, if G.652 fiber is
used, it is required to use the DCF fiber with negative wavelength dispersion to
compensate the dispersion and reduce the total dispersion value of the whole
transmission line.
2.2.2.2 Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
PMD is a kind of physical phenomenon existing in the fields of optical fiber and
optical component.
The basic mode in SMF has two polarization modes that are orthogonal. In ideal cases,
two polarization modes should have the same feature curve and transmission
characteristics. However, due to geometrical and pressure asymmetry, two polarization
modes have different transmission rates, resulting in delay and PMD, as shown in Fig.
2.2-2. Usually, the unit of PMD is ps/km1/2.
Optical fiber
Incident light Emergent light
Delay
Fig. 2.2-2 PMD in SMF
In the digital transmission system, PMD results in pulse separation and pulse spreading,
degrades transmission signal, and limits the transmission rate of carriers.
Compared with other dispersions, PMD can almost be omitted but cannot be totally
eliminated. Instead, it can only be minimized through optical components. The
narrower the pulse in the ultra-high speed system is, the greater the PMD influence is.
31
2.2.3 Non-Linear Effect
In common fiber communication systems, the transmitting optical power is low and the
fiber exhibits a linear transmission feature. For the DWDM system, however, the fiber
exhibits the non-linear effect after EDFA is used.
The non-linear effect of the fiber results in a serious cross-talk between

multi-wavelength channels in DWDM system; leads to additional attenuation of the
fiber optic transmission system; restricts the light-emitting power, EDFA amplification
performance, and current-free regenerative relay distance.
Four non-linear effects are introduced in this section, including Self-Phase Modulation
(SPM), Cross-Phase Modulation (XPM), Four Wave Mixing (FWM), Stimulated
Raman Scattering (SRS), and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBC).
1. Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)
Due to the dependency between refractive index and light intensity, the
refractive index changes during optical pulse continuance, and the pulse peak
phase is delayed for both front and rear edges. With the transmission distance
increasing, the phase shift keeps accumulating and represents a large phase
modulation upon reaching a certain distance, resulting in the spectrum spreading
which causes pulse spreading. This process is called SPM, as shown in Fig.
2.2-3.
Strength
Spectrum before
transmission λ
Pulse width before transmission
Strength
Spectrum after transmission λ

Pulse width after transmission
Fig. 2.2-3 Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)
32
When the system works in the fiber working area with negative dispersion index
(such as the short wavelength area of G.653 fiber, or working area with negative
dispersion of G.655 fiber), SPM will result in smaller dispersion limit distance.
When the system works in the fiber working area with positive dispersion index
(such as the long wavelength area of G.652 or G.653 fiber, or working area with
positive dispersion of G.655 fiber), SPM will result in greater dispersion limit
distance.
The SPM effect mainly occurs within a certain distance from the transmitter. In
addition, the low-dispersion fiber can also reduce such SPM effect on system
performance.
2. Cross Phase Modulation (XPM)
When two or more light waves with different frequencies are simultaneously
transmitted in non-linear media, the amplitude modulation of each frequency
light wave will result in the corresponding changes of the fiber refractive index,
resulting in non-linear phase modulation of the light wave with other frequency.
This is called XPM.
XPM often occurs along with SPM. XPM may cause a series of non-linear
effects, such as signal interference between DWDM system paths, and
non-linear dual-refraction of fiber, leading to unstable polarization of the fiber
transmission. Meanwhile, XPM also affects waveform and spectrum of pulse.
Increasing the dispersion properly can reduce the XPM influence.
3. Four Wave Mixing (FWM)
FWM refers to a physical process of energy exchange between multiple optical

carriers caused by non-linear effect of the fiber, when multiple optical carriers of
different frequencies with high power are simultaneously transmitted in one
fiber.
FWM results in optical signal energy attenuation in multiplexing channels and

channel cross-talk. As shown in Fig. 2.2-4, a new optical wave is generated at
another wavelength due to FWM effect.
33
New light
Fig. 2.2-4 Four Wave Mixing (FWM)
The generation of FWM is related to fiber dispersion. The mixing efficiency is

the highest when the dispersion is zero. With the increase of dispersion, the
mixing efficiency reduces rapidly. The DWDM system uses the G.655 optical
fiber to avoid the FWM effect in the 1550 nm zero-dispersion wavelength area.
4. Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)
SRS belongs to the stimulated non-elastic scattering process caused by the

non-linear effect. It originates from the mutual action and energy exchange
between photon and optical phonon (molecular vibration status).
The SRS effect results in the attenuation of the short-wavelength signals and
reinforcement of the long-wavelength signals, as shown in Fig. 2.2-5.

Power Power
... ...
λ1 λ2 λ3 λ λ1 λ2 λ3 λ
Fig. 2.2-5 SRS phenomenon
SRS effect is widely applied in the fiber optic transmission, for example,
distributed Raman amplifier can be made based on the Raman gain to provide
distributed broadband amplification for optical signals, the DRA board of ZTE
DWDM equipment implements the optical amplification function through the
SRS effect. On the other hand, SRS exerts certain negative influence on the
transmission system. In the DWDM system, lights in the short-wavelength
channel serve as the pump light to transfer energy to the long-wavelength
channel, resulting in Raman crosstalk between channels.
5. Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS)
SBS belongs to the stimulated non-elastic scattering process caused by the
34
non-linear effect. It originates from the mutual action and energy exchange
between photon and acoustical phonon (crystal vibration status).
The SBS effect can be used to make the fiber Brillouin laser and amplifier. On
the other hand, SBS results in unstable signal light source and crosstalk between
reverse transmission channels. However, along with the increase of system
transmission rate, the SBS peak gain obviously reduces. Therefore SBS will not
greatly affect the high-speed fiber transmission system.
35
3 Key Technologies of DWDM System
Key points
z Basic structure of DWDM systems
z Light source technology
z Optical wavelength division multiplexing and de-multiplexing technologies
z Optical transponder technology
z Optical amplifying technology
z Supervision technology
3.1 Basic Structure of DWDM System

The DWDM system multiplexes several or dozens of optical channel signals with
different nominal wavelengths to one fiber for transmission, with each optical channel
carrying one service signal.
The basic structure of a unidirectional DWDM system is shown in Fig. 3.1-1.
Optical transmitter Optical receiver

G.69 Optical regenerating
2 amplifier
TX1 1 RX1
OTU
1 OTU
RX2
TX2 2 2 OTU
OTU
RX3
TX3 3 OD 3 OTU
OTU OM OP
..
OBA OLA A ..
TXn . n n
. RXn
OTU
OTU Receiver/transmitter of
optical supervision
channel
Transmitter of optical Receiver of optical
supervision channel supervision channel
OTU = Optical Transponder Unit, OM = Optical Multiplexer
OBA = Optical Booster Amplifier, OLA = Optical Line Amplifier
OPA = Optical Pre-Amplifier, OD = Optical Demultiplexer
Fig. 3.1-1 Basic Structure of DWDM System
36
Chapter 3 Key Technologies of DWDM System
1. Optical transmitter end
TX1…TXn, the optical transmitters of all the multiplexing channels,

respectively transmit the optical signals (λ1, λ2 …λn, with the corresponding
frequencies as f1, f2…fn) with different nominal wavelengths. Each optical
channel carrys different service signals, such as standard SDH signal, ATM
signal and Ethernet signal. The optical multiplexer (OM) combines these signals
into one beam of optical wave, which will be output by the OBA to the fiber for
transmission.
2. Optical receiver end
After the optical wave in the line fiber being amplified through the OPA, it is
de-multiplexed by the optical de-multiplexer (OD) and then the signals of
different wavelengths are respectively input to the corresponding multiplexing
channel optical receivers, RX1…RXn.
3. Optical regenerating amplifier end
It is located in the middle of the optical transmission section, on which the

optical signals are amplified by optical amplifiers (OAL, or OBA+OPA).
4. Optical supervisory channel
In the DWDM system shown in Fig. 3.1-1, an independent wavelength (1510

nm) is used as the optical supervisory channel for transmitting optical
supervision signals. The optical supervision signals carry NE management and
monitoring information of the DWDM system, so as to manage the DWDM
system effectively with the network management system.
5. Network management system
This module is omitted in Fig. 3.1-1. The DWDM NMS is capable of managing
optical amplifying units (such as OBA, OLA and OPA), wavelength division
multiplexers, OTUs and the performance of supervisory channel on one
platform. In addition, it can manage the equipment in terms of performance,
fault, configuration and security. The information of the NMS is carried by the
supervision signals in the optical supervisory channel.
The transmission in the DWDM system with 40 wavelengths or below adopts the C
band and the spacing 100 GHz. Fig. 3.1-2 illustrates the principle diagram of the
DWDM system.
37
Fig. 3.1-2 40-Wavelength DWDM Optical Transmission System Principle (Bidirectional)
The transmission in the DWDM system with 80 wavelengths or below adopts the C
band and the spacing 50 GHz with the application of Interleave technology. Fig. 3.1-3
illustrates the principle diagram of the DWDM system.
38
Fig. 3.1-3 40-Wavelength DWDM Optical Transmission System Principle (Bidirectional)
In the 160-wavelength DWDM transmission system, 80 wavelengths are transferred in

C band and L band respectively with the spacing of 50 GHz. Fig. 3.1-4 illustrates the
principle diagram of the 160-wavelength DWDM system.
Fig. 3.1-4 160-Wavelength DWDM Optical Transmission System Principle (Unidirectional)
39
3.2 Light Source Technology

1. Type of optical sources
At present, the semi-conductor optical sources widely used are Laser Diode (LD)
and Light Emitting Diode (LED).
LD is coherence light source, with large in-fiber power, narrow spectral line
width and high modulation rate. It is applicable to the long-distance high-speed
system. The LED is non-coherence light source, with small in-fiber power,
broad spectral line width and low modulation rate. It is applicable to
short-distance low-speed system.
The light source of the DWDM system adopts the semi-conductor laser diode.
2. Features of DWDM system light source
1) Providing standard and stable wavelength
The DWDM system has very strict requirements for the operating wavelength of
each multiplexing channel. Wavelength drift will cause unstable and unreliable
operation of the system.
The common wavelength stabilization measures are temperature feedback

control method and wavelength feedback control method.
2) Providing rather large dispersion tolerance
Fiber transmission may be limited by system loss and dispersion. With increased
transmission rate, the dispersion influence is larger. The dispersion limit can be
solved by using optical fiber cables with small dispersion coefficient or
semi-conductor laser with narrow spectral width. For the optical cables have
been laid, minimizing spectral width of light source devices is an effective
measure to solve the dispersion limit problem.
3. Modulation modes of DWDM system laser
There are two methods of light source intensity modulation: Direct modulation
and indirect modulation (that is, external modulation).
1) Direct modulation
Direct modulation means controlling the working current of semi-conductor

laser directly with the electrical pulse code stream, and thus making it generate
40
the optical pulse stream corresponding to the electrical signal pulse. For example,
when the electrical pulse signal is "1", the working current of the laser is larger
than its current threshold; and then it generates an optical pulse. When the
electrical pulse signal is "0", the working current of the laser is smaller than its
current threshold; therefore it does not generate optical pulse.
The direct modulation mode is simple, with low loss and low cost. But, the
super-speed change of working current will result in modulation chirp easily.
And the chirp will limit transmission rate and distance.
The direct modulation mode is often used in the transmission system composed
of G.652 fiber, with transmission distance shorter than 100 km and rate lower
than 2.5 Gbit/s.
2) Indirect modulation (external modulation)
The external modulation mode refers to indirectly control (modulate) the

continuous light generated by the laser, which is in the continuous light emitting
status, and thus obtaining optical pulse stream.
Therefore, in external modulation case, the laser generates stable high-power

light, which is modulated in low chirp. And the external modulation can obtain
the maximum dispersion value much greater than that in direct modulation.It is
applicable to the long-distance transmission system at rate over 2.5 Gbit/s.
At present, common external modulators include Electrical Absorption

modulator (EA) and waveguide Mach-Zehnder (M-Z) modulator.
· EA modulator
It uses absorber controlled by electrical pulse signals to absorb or not absorb the
optical wave transmitted by the continuous-wave semi-conductor laser (CW),
and thus control optical pulse stream indirectly with the electrical pulse signal
stream.
The EA light source features small size, high integration, low driving power and
low power consumption. The maximum dispersion can reach 12 000 ps/nm.
· Waveguide M-Z modulator
At the input end, the CW is in continuous wave working status. The optical
wave emitted by it is divided into two equal signal channels by the optical
41
de-multiplexer, which will respectively enter two optical tributaries of the

modulator. Under the control of electrical pulse stream, the modulator performs
phase modulation to the optical signals. At the output end, two optical tributaries
are combined by the optical multiplexer. When the signal phases in two optical
tributaries are reverse to each other, the optical multiplexer has no optical signal
output; when the signal phases in two optical tributaries are the same, the optical
multiplexer has optical signal output. In this way, the optical pulse stream is
controlled by the electrical pulse stream.
The M-Z light source features high modulation rate, large maximum dispersion
value, and large extinction ratio. Its chirp coefficient can be zero in theory.
However, its disadvantage is that polarization maintaining fiber must be used to
connect the laser and the modulator, because modulation status is related to light
polarization status.
3.3 Wavelength Division Multiplexing/Demultiplexing Technology
3.3.1 Overview
The optical wavelength division multiplexer and de-multiplexer, also called optical
multiplexer and de-multiplexer, is actually a kind of optical filter.
At the transmitting end, the Optical Multiplexer Unit (OMU) combines the optical
signals with nominal wavelength in each multiplexing channel into a beam of optical
wave, and then transmits it into the fiber for transmission, that is, multiplexing optical
wave.
At the receiving end, the Optical De-multiplexer Unit (ODU) divides the optical wave
in the fiber into optical signals with formal nominal wavelength of each multiplexing
channel, and then inputs them into corresponding optical channel receivers, that is,
de-multiplexing optical wave.
Since the performance of OMU and ODU determine the system transmission quality,
the attenuation, offset and channel crosstalk of them must be small.
3.3.2 Introduction to Optical Multiplexer
Four types of common OMs are briefly introduced below, as well as the OM types
often used in the DWDM systems with different wavelength numbers.
42
1. Brief introduction to common OMs
1) Grating OM
The grating type of OM is an angular dispersion type of device.
Since the optical signals with different wavelengths have different refractive
angles on the grating, it divides and combines the optical signals with different
wavelengths. Its working principle is shown in Fig. 3.3-1.
λ 1,2,3,...n
λ1
λ2
λ3
λ4
λn
Fig. 3.3-1 Working Principle of Grating OM
It has sound wavelength selection performance, and is capable of narrowing

wavelength spacing to about 0.5 nm. However, the manufacture of grating
should be very precise which make it not suitable for large-batch manufacture.
So it is just often used for research in the laboratory.
2) Dielectric thin film OM
It is composed of Thin Film Filter (TFF).
TFF consists of dozens layers of dielectric films with different materials,

different refractive indexes and different thickness. One layer features high
refractive index and the other layer features low refractive index; therefore TFF
emerges a passband within certain wavelength range while a stopband within
other wavelength ranges. In this way, the desired filtering performance is got.
The working principle is shown in Fig. 3.3-2.
43
λ 1,2,3,...n
λ1
λ3
λ2
λ5
λ4
λ7
λ6
Fig. 3.3-2 Working Principle of Dielectric Thin Film OM
The dielectric thin film OM is a kind of compact passive optical device with
stable structure, featuring flat signal passband, low insertion loss and sound
channel isolation.
3) Array Waveguide OM (AWG)
AWG OM is the flat waveguide device based on optical integration technology.

Its working principle is shown in Fig. 3.3-3.
Fig. 3.3-3 Working Principle of AWG OM
Due to compact structure and low insertion loss, it is the best scheme for optical
wavelength division multiplexing/de-multiplexing in the optical transport
network.
4) Coupling OM
It is a kind of surface interactive device with two or more fibers close to each
other and properly melted, which is mainly used as OM. The working principle
is shown in Fig. 3.3-4.
44
λ1
λ2
λ3
λ4
λ5
λ1，2，3……
λ6
λ7
λ8
Fig. 3.3-4 Working Principle of Coupling OM
The coupling OM can only implement the multiplexing function, with low cost
but large insertion loss.
2. Multiplexer/de-multiplexer in DWDM systems
The relationship between systems with different wavelengths and their

corresponding optical wavelength division multiplexers used is shown in Table
3.3-1.
Table 3.3-1 Relationship between DWDM Systems and Corresponding Optical Wavelength Division Multiplexers
OMD &Wavelength
OM OD
Below 32 40 Above 80 Below 32 40 Above 80
Type
wavelengths wavelengths wavelengths wavelengths wavelengths wavelengths
Coupling type √ - - - - -
Array waveguide type √ √ - √ √ -
Dielectric thin film type √ √ - √ √ -
Grating type - - √ - - √
3.3.3 Main Performance Indices
1. Multiplexing channel quantity
It represents the quantity of optical channels to be multiplexed by the optical

wavelength multiplexer. The channel quantity is closely related to the resolution
and isolation of the device.
2. Insertion loss
The insertion loss is the attenuation effect of wavelength division multiplexer

itself on optical signals and it will affect the transmission distance directly.
45
Different types of wavelength division multiplexers have different insertion loss.

The multiplexer with smaller insertion loss is preferable.
3. Isolation
It represents the isolation degree between multiplexing optical channels in the

optical device. The higher the channel isolation is, the better is the frequency
selection performance of the wavelength division multiplexer. Consequently, the
crosstalk suppression ratio becomes higher and the mutual interference between
multiplexing optical channels becomes lower.
It is meaningful only for the wavelength sensitive devices (TFF type and AWG
type devices). It is not meaningless for coupling devices.
4. Reflection coefficient
It is the ratio between the reflection optical power and incidence optical power
at the input end of the wavelength division multiplexer. Smaller coefficient is
preferable.
5. Polarization Dependent Loss (PDL)
It represents the maximum change value of the insertion loss caused by the
change of optical wave polarization status.
Light is the electromagnetic wave with extremely high frequency, therefore,

there is the problem of wave vibration direction (polarization). For the optical
signals input to the wavelength division multiplexer, their polarization statuses
will not be totally consistent. And the same wavelength division multiplexer has
different attenuation effects on the optical waves in different polarization
statuses. Smaller PDL value is preferable.
6. Temperature coefficient
It represents the central working frequency offset of the multiplexing channel

caused by the ambient temperature change. The wavelength division multiplexer
with smaller temperature coefficient is preferable. Smaller coefficient means
more stable central working frequency of the multiplexing channels.
7. Bandwidth
The bandwidth is a parameter of the wavelength sensitive devices (TFF type and
AWG type devices). It is meaningless for coupling multiplexers.
46
The bandwidth is divided into channel bandwidth @-0.5 dB and channel

bandwidth @-20 dB.
· Channel width @ -0.5 dB
It refers to the corresponding operating wavelength change when the OD

insertion loss decreases by 0.5 dB.
It describes the bandpass feature of the OD. A sound bandpass feature curve
should be flat and wide. Greater bandpass value is preferable.
· Channel width @ -20 dB
It refers to the corresponding operating wavelength change when the OD

insertion loss decreases by 20 dB.
It describes the stopband feature of the OD. The stopband feature curve should
be sharp. Smaller bandwidth value is preferable.
3.4 OTU Technology
3.4.1 Overview
The main purpose of Optical Wavelength Transponder Unit (OTU) is wavelength

conversion. It converts the non-nominal wavelength of the optical channel signal into
the nominal optical wavelength compliant with ITU-T G.692, which is accessed to the
DWDM system.
OTU also provides other functions:
1. Standard and stable light source
The DWDM system needs to multiplex multiple wavelengths in a low-loss

window, with small wavelength spacing, so the central frequency of the DWDM
light source must work stably in the nominal central frequency sequence
specified in ITU-T recommendations.
2. Light source with rather large dispersion tolerance
The increase of passive regeneration distance in the DWDM system requires the
greater dispersion tolerance distance of the light source, and the capability of
solving non-linear effect of the fiber.
3. Capable of being used as a regenerator
47
When the transponder unit serves as a regenerator, it has the data regeneration
function, which is an optional function of the OTU.
3.4.2 Working Principle and Performance Indices
1. Working principle
The working principle of the OTU is shown in Fig. 3.4-1.
G.957 O/E Shaping, timing, E/O G.692

(regeneration)
Optical input Optical output
Fig. 3.4-1 Working Principle of OTU
The OTU converts the multiplexing optical channel signals which accord with
the ITU-T G.957 to electrical signals through O/E conversion, and implements
shaping, timing extraction and data regeneration (whether perform regeneration
depends on actual situations) for the electrical signals, and then performs E/O
conversion to output optical signals whose wavelength, dispersion and optical
transmitting power accord with G.692 specifications.
If only shaping and timing processing (that is, 2R functions) are implemented
after the O/E conversion, this OTU only implements the function of wavelength
conversion, and thus the transmission distance supported by it will be short.
If shaping, timing processing and regeneration (that is, 3R functions) are

implemented after O/E conversion, then this OTU has the additional function of
regenerator (REG) actually.
2. Main performance indices
1) System operating wavelength area
It is located in the 1550 nm low-loss window, being divided into C band and L
band.
· C band (conventional band)
Wavelength range: 1530 nm - 1565 nm
Working frequency: 196.05 THz - 192.10 THz (1 THz = 1000 GHz)
· L band (long-wavelength band)
48
Wavelength range: 1565 nm - 1625 nm
Working frequency: 190.90 THz - 186.95 THz
y Note
Generally, the working range of the DWDM system is represented by frequency.
2) Channel spacing
Channel spacing means the nominal frequency difference between two adjacent
multiplexing channels, covering uniform channel spacing and non-uniform
channel spacing. At present, uniform channel spacing is used mostly.
The minimum channel spacing of the DWDM system is the integer times of 50
GHz.
· When the multiplexing channels are 8 wavelengths, the channel spacing is 200
GHz.
· When the multiplexing channels are 16/32/40 wavelengths, the channel spacing
is 100 GHz.
· When the multiplexing channels are above 80 wavelengths, the channel spacing
is 50 GHz.
Smaller channel spacing requires higher resolution of the OD and means more
multiplexing channels.
3) Nominal central frequency
It refers to the central wavelength (frequency) corresponding to each

multiplexing channel in the DWDM system.
For example, when the multiplexing channels are 16/32/40 wavelengths, the
central frequency of the first wavelength is 192.1 THz and the channel spacing
is 100 GHz. The frequency increases in ascending order.
4) Central frequency offset
It is also called frequency offset. It refers to the offset between the actual
working central frequency of the multiplexing optical channel and nominal
49
central frequency.
According to the national standards, in the system with frequency spacing of

100 GHz, the maximum central frequency offset is ±20 GHz (about ±0.16 nm)
when the rate is below 2.5 Gbit/s, and it is ±12.5 GHz when the rate is 10 Gbit/s.
For the system with frequency spacing as 50 GHz, the maximum central
frequency offset is ±5 GHz.
The maximum central frequency offset is the value which can still be met when
the designed life cycle of the system expires, with temperature, humidity and
other factors taken into consideration.
5) Dispersion tolerance
Dispersion reflects the spreading of the optical pulse during the transmission in
the fiber.
The pulse spreading will result in decreased extinction ratio of signal pulse at
the receiving end, that is, the electrical level of bit “1” and bit “0” are close to
each other, which may lead to mistaken judgment of the receiver. To avoid bit
errors, it is required to take proper measures to compensate the optical pulse
spreading in the fiber transmission process, for the pulse spreading will be more
and more serious with the increasing of transmission distance.
The requirement of DWDM system for the fiber chromatic dispersion

coefficient is basically that of a single multiplexing channel signal for fiber
chromatic dispersion coefficient. In addition, since the passive regenerating
distance of the DWDM system is much greater than that of a single SDH system,
the dispersion tolerance distance of the system light source must be prolonged.
6) Receiver sensitivity
The receiver sensitivity refers to the minimum average receiving optical power
on the OTU input port when the input signals are located in the 1550 nm
window and the bit error rate reaches 10-12.
7) Overloaded optical power
The overloaded optical power refers to the maximum average receiving optical
power on the OTU input port when the input signals are located in the 1550 nm
window and the bit error rate reaches 10-12.
50
3.4.3 Classification and Application of OTU
According to the location in DWDM systems, OTU can be classified into transmitter
OTU (OTUT), receiver OTU (OTUR) and regenerator OTU (OTUG). Fig. 3.4-2
illustrates the application of three kinds of OTUs in a DWDM transmission system.
λ1 OTUT OTUG OTUR λ1
λ2 OTUT O O O O OTUG O O O O OTUR λ2

M A A D M A A D
Line
Internal fiber
fiber
OM: Optical Multiplexer
OD: Optical Demultiplexer
OA: Optical Amplifier
Fig. 3.4-2 Application of OTU
1. OTUT
The OTUT is applied between the client-side equipment at the transmit end and
OM. It forwards the optical signal that meets the specification of G.692 to the
OM. Besides the Optical/Electrical/Optical (O/E/O) conversion function, the
OTUT also has the functions of reshaping and retiming (2R) as well as the
checking of the byte B1.
2. OTUR
The OTUR is applied between the OD and the client-side equipment at the
receive end. The optical signal output by the OD meets the specification of
G.692. The OTUR has similar functions as the OTUT, including wavelength
conversion, 2R and B1 byte check.
3. OTUG
The OTUG is applied between OM and OD. Both the input and the output
optical signal of it meet the specification of G.692. Besides the O/E and E/O
conversion functions, the OTUG also has the functions of reshaping, retiming
and regenerating (3R), as well as the checking of the byte B1. With the 3R
function, the OTUG is equivalent to a general regenerator (REG).
51
3.5 Optical Amplifying Technology

For the long-distance optical transmission, optical power gradually decreases with the
increasing of transmission distance. The output of the light source laser usually is not
more than 3 dBm, otherwise, the laser life cycle may be unqualified. In addition, in
order to ensure correct signal receiving, the receiving power at the receiving end must
always be a certain value, for example, -28 dBm. Therefore, the optical power becomes
the major factor determining the transmission distance.
Optical amplifier is the technology to solve the problem of optical power limit. Without
the O/E/O conversion, it directly amplifies the optical signals. The classification of
optical amplifier is shown in Fig. 3.5-1.
Fig. 3.5-1 Optical Amplifier Classification
In this section, the EDFA and Raman fiber amplifier are introduced.
3.5.1 EDFA Technology
3.5.1.1 Technical Principle of EDFA
1. Amplifying principle
Erbium (Er) is a kind of lanthanon. In the fiber manufacture process, certain

quantity of Er3+ ions is doped to form Erbium Doped Fiber (EDF). The Er3+ ions
in such fiber will absorb photon energy to make it own energy level change,
which is called stimulation. The light source for stimulation is called pump light
source, and the corresponding transmitting stimulation optical wave is called as
pump light.
The working principle is shown in Fig. 3.5-2.
52
N3~0
1550 nm N2
signal light
1550 nm
980 nm 1480nm stimulated
pump light emission
N1
Fig. 3.5-2 Working Principle of EDFA
The Er3+ ion free from stimulation is at the lowest energy level. When the pump
light is shot in, the Er3+ ion absorbs energy from the pump light and transits
itself to the higher energy level. At the higher energy level, the Er3+ ions are in
instable status, therefore they continuously converge to metastable energy level
in non-radiant transition format, and thus implementing population inversion
distribution. When the optical signals with 1550 nm wavelength pass this
segment of EDF, the metastable particles are transited to the ground status in
stimulated emission format, and then photons which are the same as those in the
incoming signal light are generated. In this way, the optical signals are
amplified.
2. Composition
The EDFA consists of the EDF, bump light source, coupler and isolator, as
shown in Fig. 3.5-3.
λ λ λ λ λ λ
Fig. 3.5-3 EDFA Composition
The coupler is used to combine the signal light with pump light. The isolator is
used to suppress the light reflection, to ensure stable working of the optical
amplifier. The pump laser generates pump light source.
53
3. Main performance indices
1) Gain (G)
It is the ratio between output optical signal power and input optical signal power.
Greater gain means more powerful amplifying capability.
2) Noise Figure (NF)
It is the ratio between the Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR) at the EDFA input end and
SNR at output end.
EDFA noise comes from many ways, such as signal shot noise, internal
reflection noise and Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) noise, which is the
major part of EDFA noise.
y Note
ASE is the emission noise caused by the EDFA’s own factors, such as the unbalance
between optical transmitting area and absorption area, the different population
inversion degrees (quantity of ions in stable energy level E2 and the quantity of ions in
ground energy level E1 are different), the gain and working status of the EDFA.
Since the EDFA can amplify both optical signal and noise, the parameter NF
appears which is closely related to the ASE noise of the EDFA. It greatly affects
the system performance, especially the OSNR of the whole system. Smaller NF
is preferable, for example, below 5.0 dB.
3) Bandwidth
The operating wavelength range of the DWDM system covers C band and L
band. The optical amplifier needs to amplify all the multiplexing channel signals
of the system, so its bandwidth should be wide enough.
4) Gain flatness (Gp-p)
It represents the allowed fluctuation of EDFA gain within the specified working
band range. In order to get sound flatness, the aluminum doped technology is
usually used in the EDF.
In the DWDM system, smaller EDFA gain flatness is preferable so as to
54
minimize the difference between output optical power signals of different

multiplexing channels and facilitate optical power estimation,.
5) Total input/output power range
It is the optical power range at input/output end of the EDFA.
In WDM systems, an EDFA is responsible for amplifying all the multiplexing

optical channel signals in the system. Therefore, its input/output optical power
range should be large enough, especially for WDM systems with lots of
multiplexing channels.
On the other hand, to ensure the gain flatness and low noise performance, the
EDFA should work in small signal working range, that is, the input/output power
range of the EDFA cannot be too large. It is more important that the EDFA
output power cannot be too large in order to avoid fiber non-linear effect. For
this purpose, the optical power of a signal channel cannot be too large. The
proper power should be determined according to the signal rate and the type of
transmission fiber.
6) Polarization Dependent Gain (PDG)
Since the EDFA generates different gains for optical waves in different
polarization statuses. So, the maximum EDFA gain change caused by the
polarization status change of the optical wave is called as PDG. Smaller PDG
value is preferable.
7) Pump light leakage
Although optical isolators are configured at the input and output ends of the
EDFA, a few pump light leakage occurs. Smaller leakage is preferable.
Pump light leakage represents the ratio between the pump light leakage power
and the input/output pump light power.
8) Input/output optical reflectance
It is the ratio between the optical power at the EDFA input/output end and the
reflection optical power. Greater value is preferable.
4. Importance of EDFA for DWDM system
To ensure the transmission quality of DWDM systems, the EDFAs used in the
DWDM system must have sufficient bandwidth, flat gain, low NF and high
55
output power. Proper gain flatness is especially important, which is special

requirement of DWDM system for EDFA.
3.5.1.2 Classification of EDFA
Depending on the location of EDFA in the DWDM system and pump source types, two
EDFA classification modes are introduced below.
1. Classification by location
The EDFA is divided into Optical Booster Amplifier (OBA), Optical Line
Amplifier (OLA) and Optical Pre-Amplifier (OPA).
1) OBA: It is located behind the OTM or the transmitting light source of

regenerator device, being in the front of the regeneration segment. The OBA is
mainly used to boost the transmitting power so as to extend transmission
distance.
2) OLA: It is located in the middle of the regeneration segment, with the EDFA
inserted directly into the fiber transmission link for amplifying signals. Multiple
OLAs can be equipped in the regeneration segment as required.
3) OPA: It is located between the end of the regeneration segment and the optical
receiving device. The OPA is mainly used to pre-amplify small signals going
through line attenuation, and boost the power of optical signals before entering
the receiver so as to meet the sensitivity requirements of the receiver.
The locations of these three kinds of amplifiers in the optical line are shown in
Fig. 3.5-4.
Regeneration
segment
OTM OBA OLA OLA OPA OTM
Fig. 3.5-4 Locations of Amplifiers in Regeneration Segment
2. Classification by pump source
The pump sources often used now cover 980 nm and 1480 nm, for these two
types of pump sources have high pump efficiency.
The 980 nm pump light source has lower NF; while the 1480 nm one has higher
pumping efficiency and therefore a larger output power is obtainable (about
56
3 dB higher than that of the 980 nm pump light source).
In actual applications of line amplifier, most 8-channel WDM systems use the
980 nm pump source, because the WDM system of G.652 fiber mostly features
dispersion limit other than loss limit. If such WDM system uses the 1480 nm
pump source, the system power attenuation will increase and it is unnecessary to
boost EDFA output power.
WDM systems of more than 16 channels use the 1480 nm pump source instead,
because enormous tributaries decrease the available power range and the pump
source with higher power is necessary. A two-level pump can also be used to
improve the NF and increase the output power.
3.5.1.3 Main Problems of EDFA to Be Solved
The EDFA also introduces in some new problems while solving some problems of fiber
transmission system.
1. Non-linear effect
EDFA amplifies the optical power through increasing the optical power shot into
the fiber. However, it does not mean the greater optical power is surely the best.
When the optical power is increased to certain degree, fiber non-linear effect
will occur. Therefore, in the usage of fiber amplifier, it is required to control the
value of the in-fiber optical power in a single channel.
2. Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the range of the optical wavelength which can be amplified
flatly. The operating wavelength range of the EDFA in C band is 1530 nm - 1561
nm, and the one in L band is 1565 nm - 1625 nm.
The gain flatness filter is used inside the EDFA, so that the EDFA has almost the
same gain to each multiplexing optical channel signal within corresponding
wavelength range. The gain fluctuation should be limited within the allowed
range, for example, ±1 dB. Therefore, the bandwidth is closely related to the
gain flatness.
3. Optical surge
When the optical line is normal, the erbium ions stimulated by the pump light
are carried off by the signal light, thus implementing the amplification of the
57
signal light. If the input light is interrupted, the metastable erbium ions still
converge continuously, and finally the energy transient occurs, leading to optical
surge.
The solution of optical surge is to implement Automatic Power Reduction (APR)

or Automatic Power ShutDown (APSD) function in the EDFA. In other words,
the EDFA should automatically reduce power or shut down power upon no input
light, and thus suppressing surge.
4. Dispersion
With the extended transmission distance, the total dispersion increases

correspondingly. Therefore, the passive regeneration segment in the WDM
system cannot be prolonged limitlessly. The dispersion compensation measure
can be taken to prolong the passive regeneration distance of the multiplexing
section.
3.5.2 Raman Amplification Technology
The Raman amplification technology bases on the non-linear effect --

Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), that is, when a light wave strong enough is
transmitted on a line fiber, its energy can be translated to other wavelength
section. There are two kinds of SRS: upward frequency shifted scattering and
downward frequency shifted scattering. In other words, the energy is translated
to short wavelength (upward) and long wavelength (downward). The downward
SRS is the basis of Raman amplification. The Raman effect of fiber can be
adopted in the manufacturing of broadband Raman amplifier and tunable Raman
laser. The signal light is amplified by translating the energy of shortwave pump
light to the long wave signal light.
In the non-linear medium, the incident photons interact with phonons generated
by molecule oscillation of the medium. The incident photons are scattered by the
medium molecules to low-frequency Stocks photons, and other energies are
translated to the phonons at the same time. Then the molecules implement the
transition between oscillation states, as shown in Fig. 3.5-5. This procedure is
called as the simulated Raman scattering or the Raman effect.
58
Fig. 3.5-5 Working Principle of Raman Amplifier
If the pump light is used as the incident light in the fiber, the frequency shift
light of Stocks wave will be generated after the scattering effect of molecules.
When the frequency of the input optical signal is same as that of the Stocks
wave, the optical signal will be amplified, while the frequency downward offset
is determined by the oscillating mode of the medium and the incident pump light.
Therefore, different pump light can be selected to implement the amplification
or oscillation for optical signals as required. The application of multiple pumps
with different wavelength can provide ultra broadband amplification.
The fiber Raman amplifier mainly consists of gain medium fiber and pump
source. It has various types and structures according to different fiber types,
pump types and modes and different amplification modes. General transmission
fiber can be used; however, fibers with higher non-linear characteristic are better
to achieve higher amplification efficiency. Many kinds of pump sources can be
chosen, such as single pump, dual pumps and multiple pumps. The pump
wavelength and power should be designed elaborately for each pump source.
2) Features of Raman fiber amplifier
· Based on dozens of kilometers of line fibers, it implements distributed

amplification, with low NF and effective improvement of system SNR.
· With the same SNR, it can reduce the optical power at the transmitting end and
minimize the non-linear effect.
· It can generate gain for all the wavelengths, serving as full-band amplifier
(however, it should be divided into C band amplifier and L band amplifier).
· It has flat gain. The gain wavelength range depends on the pump wavelength.
· Since the noise of Raman fiber amplifier reduces with fiber distance increase,
the fiber should be long enough. There is no requirement for the fiber type.
· The pump conversion efficiency is low, so the high-power pump laser source is
59
required.
· The amplifying gain is low, so it needs to cooperate with the EDFA to form
combined amplifier, in order to compensate the line attenuation and node
insertion loss.
3) Application
If the DWDM system above 40 G only uses EDFA for amplifying, spontaneous
emission will accumulate, restricting the overall system performance. Compared
with EDFA, the SRA has such advantages as low noise, not introducing in
additional loss upon removal of pump light, and no transient effect. Therefore,
the combination of EDFA and SRA can form the important optical amplifying
technology for the ultra long-haul transmission system above 40 G.
Besides the reverse pumping distributed Raman amplification, other kinds of

Raman amplification technologies also emerges, such as forward pump and
bidirectional pump Raman amplification, which can provide higher gain and
lower noise figure, achieving the flatness of gain and NF at the same time. The
discrete Raman amplifier taking the Dispersion Compensation Fiber (DCF) as
the gain medium can compensate the dispersion on the transmission links and
implement the total ultra broadband integrated amplification of optical signals.
In addition, it has the potential to adjust the gain slope. In the overall Raman
transmission system, in which the distributed and discrete Raman amplifiers are
used, the continuous gain bandwidth can reach 100 nm. Such system supports
the ultra broadband transmission including the S band and xL band.
Of course, the Raman amplification has its inherent shortcomings. The forward
pump and bidirectional pump Raman amplification has the problem of pump
light Relative Intensity Noise (RIN) transition, which has evident influence on
the noise characteristic of the Raman amplifier. Especially in the transmission
fibers with small dispersion coefficient, such as G.655 fiber, this RIN transition
problem becomes more serious, and it degrades the noise figure of Raman
amplifier greatly. To sum up, the discrete Raman amplifier is not better than the
EDFA on the aspect of economic efficiency and noise figure.
3.6 Supervision Technology

Detection, control and management are basic requirements of all the network
60
operations. To ensure the secure operation of DWDM systems, the supervision system
is designed as an independent system separated from working channels and devices
physically.
For example, ZTE’s DWDM system uses an independent wavelength (1510 nm) and
depends on no service channel, to ensure that no active amplification is required for the
long distance transmission and improve the reliability. In this way, the supervision
system can monitor all the NE equipment in the system.
3.6.1 Functions of Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC)
Different from the conventional SDH system, the DWDM system with optical
amplifier can supervise and manage EDFAs in the system additionally. Since the EDFA
only amplifies optical signals without electrical signal input. Especially when it is used
as an optical amplifier regenerator, it has no electrical interface connection because no
service signal will be added or dropped on it. This makes it difficult for supervision. In
addition, there is no special byte in the SDH overhead for monitoring the EDFA, so an
electrical signal must be added to monitor the status of EDFA.
The OSC is used to transmit the NE management and supervision information related
to the DWDM system through a wavelength. The information involves the fault alarm,
fault location, quality parameter supervision during operation, the control over backup
line upon line interruption and the EDFA supervision etc. In this way, the network
operator can effectively manage the DWDM system.
3.6.2 Requirements for OSC
The DWDM system has the following requirements for the OSC:
1. The OSC should not restrict the optical wavelengths (980 nm and 1480 nm) of
the pump light source in the optical amplifier.
2. The OSC should not restrict the transmission distance between two OLAs.
3. The OSC should not restrict the services on the 1310 wavelength in the future.
4. The OSC can still be available upon failure of the OLA.
The supervision information transmitted on the OSC includes the information

related to all kinds of optical amplifiers, such as the input/output optical power
and the operating wavelength of pump light source etc. Therefore, the
supervision would be meaningless if the OSC can not work normally when the
61
optical amplifier fails.
5. The OSC transmission is bidirectional, which ensures the supervision

information can still be received by the line terminal when one fiber is broken.
6. The segmenting of OSC transmission enables dropping supervision information

or adding new supervision information on each optical amplifier regeneration
station and DWDM system office station.
3.6.3 Implementation of OSC
The implementation principle of OSC is shown in Fig. 3.6-1.
λ λ
λ λ
λ λ
OM: Optical Multiplexer
OD: Optical Demultiplexer
OBA/OPA: Optical amplifier
OTUT/OTUR: Optical transponder
Fig. 3.6-1 Implementation Principle of OSC
1. Dropping and adding of OSC information
As shown in Fig. 3.6-1, to ensure that the supervision information transmitted on

the OSC can be dropped or added on each optical amplifier regeneration station
and DWDM system office station without influences from optical amplifier, it is
required to use a 2-wavelength OM (OM2) behind the OBA at the transmitting
end to add the OSC information into the main channel; and use a 2-wavelength
OD (OD2) ahead of the OPA at the receiving end to drop the OSC information.
2. Operating wavelength of OSC
For the DWDM system with line amplifiers, an additional OSC is required,
which should be able to perform adding/dropping with BER as low as possible
in each optical regenerator/amplifier.
62
According to ITU-T recommendations, a specific wavelength can be used as the

OSC. Such wavelength can be 1,310 nm, 1,480 nm or 1,510 nm when it is out of
the service transmission band, among which the 1,510 nm is preferable.
Since this channel is out of the gain bandwidth of the EDFA (also called as
outband OSC), the supervision signals must be dropped (from optical channel)
ahead of EDFA and be added (to optical channel) behind the EDFA. As shown in
Fig. 3.6-1, the OSC is added behind the OBA and dropped ahead of the OPA.
3. Transmission rate of OSC
In actual DWDM systems, most of the information really needing supervision is

the working status of EDFA. So the amount of supervision information is not
huge. In addition, to ensure normal operation of the OSC upon optical amplifier
failure, the receiving sensitivity should be high in order to enable the
supervision channel signals without being amplified covering the maximum
transmission distance of major service signals. Therefore, the working rate of the
OSC is set to 2 Mbit/s.
With the continuous technology development, the OSC rate improves as well.
For example, ZTE’s DWDM equipment can provide supervision rate of
10 Mbit/s or 100 Mbit/s.
4. Frame structure of OSC information
For the supervision system at working rate of 2 Mbit/s, thirty-two 64 kbit/s bytes
are used to carry supervision information, which is transmitted and exchanged in
PCM32 frame format.
For the system at supervision rate of 10 Mbit/s or 100 Mbit/s, taking ZTE’s
DWDM equipment as example, the supervision channel adopts 10/100 M
Ethernet technology to encapsulate supervision data in IP packets. Then the
supervision information is transmitted and exchanged in Ethernet data frames.
5. Line coding
The 2Mbit/s supervisory channel adopts Code Mark Inversion (CMI) as the line
code type.
The 10/100 Mbit/s supervisory channel adopts 4B/5B code.
6. OSC protection
63
If the OSC bidirectional transmission is interrupted because of the total

break-off of the fiber, the NE management system cannot obtain the supervision
information normally. At this time, the backup route, such as the Data
Communication Network (DCN), should be used to transmit supervision
information so as to protect the OSC.
64
4 Protection Principles of DWDM System
Key points
z Principle of 1+1 protection
z Principle of 1:N protection
z Principle of Optical CHannel (OCH) protection
z Principle of Optical Multiplex Section (OMS) protection
4.1 Introduction to DWDM System Hierarchy
y Note
In this chapter, we take ZTE’s DWDM equipment as an example for introduction.
The DWDM system protection involves the protection of optical channel layer and
optical Multiplex Section (MS) layer. First of all, we will introduce the location of each
layer in the system.
The DWDM system is divided into Optical Multiplex Section (OMS) layer, Optical
Transport (OTS) layer, Optical Channel (OCH) layer and Optical Access (OAC) layer.
The locations of these layers in the system are shown in Fig. 4.1-1, and their functions
are listed in Table 4.1-1
65
Course Code Course Name
OTM OTM
G.692 OLA
TX1 1 RX1
OTU 1 OTU
TX2 RX2
2 2 OTU
OTU
RX3
TX3 3 OP OD 3 OTU
..
OTU OM OBA OLA
.. A
TXn .
OTU
n n .
OTU
RXn
OTS OTS
OMS
OAC OCH OAC
Fig. 4.1-1 DWDM System Hierarchy
Table 4.1-1 Explanation of DWDM System Hierarchy
Layer Location Function

Multiplexing optical channel signals and
OMS Between OTMs
de-multiplexing multiplexed optical channel signals
Between OTM and OLA, or
OTS Transmitting optical signals on all kinds of fibers
between OLAs
Supporting OAC to convert customer signals into
At the line side of optical
OCH optical signals compliant with G.692 specifications for
transponder platform
transmission
At the client side of optical
OAC Accessing customer signals
transponder platform
4.2 1+1 Protection

In the 1+1 protection switching, optical signals are simultaneously transmitted on
working line and protection line. In other words, the signals are permanently connected
(bridged) with working line and protection line at the transmitting end. At the receiving
end, the statuses of the signals received from these two lines are monitored and
selectively connected to the line with better signal quality. So this protection mode is
called "concurrent transmitting and priority receiving".
For the protection of chain networks, the OMS line 1+1 protection or the OCH 1+1
protection can be implemented according to different configurations. In the case of
OMS protection, the “concurrent transmitting and priority receiving” is located after
the optical power amplifier and the pre-amplifier of the optical terminal. In the case of
OCH protection, it is located before the OTU board at the transmitting end and after
the OTU board at the receiving end of the optical terminal.
For ZTE’s DWDM equipment, the 1+1 protection is implemented by the OP board.
66
Chapter 4 Protection Principles of DWDM System
4.2.1 1+1 Protection in Chain Network
Depending on the location, the OP board can implement the 1+1 protection of OCH
and OMS.
1. OCH 1+1 protection
One OP board is used to protect a pair of bidirectional traffic. In the case of

channel 1+1 protection, the number of OP boards configured must be consistent
with that of the channels to be protected.
The protection channel and protected channel are transmitted in the same fiber.
The channel 1+1 protection in chain networks can only protect equipment other
than routes, as shown in Fig. 4.2-1.
Fig. 4.2-1 OCH 1+1 Protection
2. OMS 1 +1 protection
The 1+1 protection of OMS is in segment-by-segment 1+1 protection mode, as

shown in Fig. 4.2-2.
67
λ1 λ1
OTU OTU
Line 1 in
λ2 direction A λ2
OTU OBA OPA O OTU
O
λ3 M D λ3
OTU OTU
D Line 2 in U
direction A
λn λn
OTU OTU
O O
λ1 P P
OTU λ1
Line 1 in OTU
λ2 direction B λ2
OTU OBA OTU
O OPA O
λ3 λ3
OTU D Line 2 in M OTU
D direction B U
λn λn
OTU OTU
Line 1 is working channel and line 2 is protection channel.
Fig. 4.2-2 1 +1 Protection of OMS
The OP board supervises the main optical path. The switching is implemented
through the optical switch inside the board when the switching conditions are
met.
4.2.2 1+1 Protection in Ring Network
The 1+1 protection in ring networks can also be divided into the 1+1 protection of
OCH and 1+1 protection of OMS. In the ring network, the protection channel and
protected channel reaches the receiving end through different routes.
1. 1+1 protection of OCH
The 1+1 protection of OCH can protect not only routes but also devices.
Suppose there is a ring network as shown in Fig. 4.2-3.
Protection
channel
B D
Working A
channel
Fig. 4.2-3 Ring Network
Fig. 4.2-4 illustrates the optical connection between Node A and Node B.
68
O O
M D
U U
Working
OTU channel OTU
O O
D M
U U
O O
P P
OTU O O OTU
M D
U U
Protection
channe
O O
D M
Site A U U Site B
Fig. 4.2-4 1+1 Protection of OCH (Ring Network)
2. 1+1 protection of OMS
In the ring network, the 1+1 protection of OMS protects the multiplexed signals.
When the fiber is broken, two nodes adjacent to the broken points implement the
“loop-back” function, and thus protecting all the services. It is similar to the
protection mode shown in Fig. 4.2-2.
4.2.3 Features of 1+1 Protection
1. The protection line is special, which can not be shared with other working lines.
2. It does not need the support of signaling, being easy for implementation.
3. Capable of being used in networks of any structure, such as point-to-point, ring

and mesh networking.
4. It is still a kind of revertive protection even having no signaling support.
5. Low bandwidth utilization ratio and high cost.
4.3 1:N Protection
4.3.1 Working Principle
In the 1:N protection switching, multiplex working lines share one protection line.
Both ends of N working lines are bridged to the protection line. The protection function
monitors and judges the status of received signal, and switch the services on this
working line to the protection line upon detecting any deterioration or failure of service
69
signals on the working line. This mode is called as "transmitting-receiving switching".

Its working principle is shown in Fig. 4.3-1.
Fig. 4.3-1 Working Principle of 1:N Protection
4.3.2 Implementation of 1:N Protection
ZTE’s DWDM equipment can provide the 1:N protection of OCH. We introduces the
implementation of the 1:N protection with the application of the Electrical Switching
Board (SWE).
The SWE board implements the switching in an electrical cross-connect mode. At the
transmitting end, N channels of service signals are input to the input ports 1 - N of the
SWE board, and then are output to the OTU through the output ports 1 - N. At the
receiving end, the input ports 1 - N of the SWE board receive the signals from OTU
respectively, and the output ports 1 - N of the SWE board output the signals to the user
terminal. The protection function is shown in Fig. 4.3-2.
Fig. 4.3-2 Functional Block Diagram of 1+1 Protection of OCH
70
If any channel of the N channels fails, once the receiving end detects the faulty service,
it notifies the SWE boards at the transmitting end and receiving end through protocols,
and then the receiving/transmitting end switches this channel of service to the port N +
1 to protect the service.
When multiple channels of services are faulty at the same time, the service of higher
priority will be protected first. The protection priority is set in the network management
system.
4.3.3 Features of Channel 1:N Protection
1. The protection line is shared by multiple working lines.
2. Signaling support is required. The implementation process is relatively

complicated.
3. It can be used in ring and grid networks.
4. The protection is restorable.
5. The bandwidth utilization ratio is high but the protection reliability is low.
4.4 Two-Fiber Bidirectional Channel Shared Protection

In the two-fiber bidirectional channel shared protection ring, the λ1 of the

external ring forms the working channel, while the λ1 of the internal ring forms
the protection channel. The working channel allows wavelengths of multiple
unidirectional services being used repeatedly, and the protection channel shares
protection of all services on the working channel.
As shown in Fig. 4.4-1, when a cross-segment fiber fails (the symbol “×” means
failure in the figure), the service passing this span is damaged, which leads to
the switching operation at the transmitting end of the service. Then the service is
transmitted along the protection route. Meanwhile the two switches at the
receiving end act, and then the service are received from the protection route. In
this way, the service protection is implemented.
71
ig. 4.4-1 Principle of Two-Fiber Bidirectional Channel Shared Protection
2. Implementation of OPCS board
The ZTE’s DWDM equipment ZXMP M800 implements the bidirectional

channel shared protection through the Optical Channel Shared Protection (OPCS)
board. Besides the channel protection of the ring network, the OPCS board also
controls the status of the added protection wavelength through connecting to the
optical switch, to avoid conflict of multiple services that use the same operating
wavelength on the protection ring. Fig. 4.4-2 illustrates a networking example.
λ21(B A)
H A B B
λ21(B A)
λ22(A B)
λ22(A B)
λ22(E F)
G F E D
λ22(E F)
λ21(F E)
λ21(F E)
Fig. 4.4-2 Wavelength Configuration of Channel Shared Protection
72
Suppose that a pair of bidirectional services between Site A and Site B need
protection. The OPCS board should be configured firstly at Sites A and B. Then
connect fibers between them.
In the configuration, the services should be transmitted through different

wavelengths. The service from A to B is carried by λ21 (external ring), while the
service from B to A is carried by λ22 (internal ring). In this way, the operating
wavelength formed by λ21 and λ22 can be repeatedly used between other nodes
on the ring network. The λ21 of internal ring serves as the protection wavelength
of external ring λ21. Similarly, the λ22 wavelength serves as the protection
wavelength of internal ring λ22. The shared protection of multiple services in the
ring network is implemented.
The wavelength allocation can be flexibly adjusted. But it should be ensured that
the services are bidirectional and the operating wavelengths are different. For
the convenience of project debugging and maintenance, the adjacent odd and
even wavelengths are allocated by default.
3. Application features
· It is used for loop protection.
· The service protection is based on channels. The switching depends on the

quality of signals in a channel dropped from the loop.
· In the loop, the directions of receiving information and transmitting information

on the node are reverse. The resource utilization ratio is high.
· The switching is implemented in the adding channel node and the dropping
channel node of the service.
· The wavelength allocation is flexible.
4.5 Two-Fiber Bidirectional MS Shared Protection

In the two-fiber bidirectional MS protection, the system uses the same

wavelength in internal ring and external ring for mutual protection. For example,
in a 32-wavelength system, the first 16 wavelengths of the internal ring serve as
operating wavelengths, and the last 16 wavelengths serve as protection
73
wavelengths. The first 16 wavelengths of the external ring serve as protection

wavelengths, and the last 16 wavelengths serve as operating wavelengths. The
wavelengths are complementarily distributed.
The scheme can also be adopted to protect only eight wavelengths in the
32-wavelength system. In this case, eight wavelengths on the internal ring and
external ring protect each other, and the other 24 wavelengths are the actual
operating wavelengths. The operating wavelengths usually transmit services
while the protection wavelengths usually not.
Fig. 4.5-1 shows the principle diagram of MS protection for mutual protection of
the wavelengths in the internal and external rings, with 16 operating
wavelengths. The solid lines indicate working routes, while the dotted lines
indicate protection routes of the external ring when fault occurs between D and
E.
B A H G
λ17 λ17
C D E F
Add Drop Add Drop

λ1 λ1
Fig. 4.5-1 Principle of Two-Fiber Bidirectional MS Shared Protection
2. Implementation of OPMS board
The ZTE’s DWDM equipment ZXMP M800 implements the bidirectional OMS
shared protection through the Optical MS Shared Protection (OPMS) board.
Fig. 4.5-2 illustrates a networking example.
74
λ21(B→A)
H A B B
λ21(B→A)
λ43(A→B)
λ43(A→B)
λ43(E→F)
G F E D
λ43(E→F)
λ21(F→E)
λ21(F→E)
Fig. 4.5-2 Wavelength Configuration of MS Shared Protection
Suppose that a pair of bidirectional services between Site A and Site B need
protection. The OPMS board should be installed at the site A and B. Then
connect fibers between them.
In the configuration, the services should be transmitted through different

wavelengths. Both working bands and protection bands of internal/external ring
are distributed symmetrically. For example, 16 wavelengths (192.1 THz - 193.8
THz) of the external ring serve as the operating wavelengths of external ring,
and 16 wavelengths (194.3 THz - 196.0 THz) of the internal ring serve as
operating wavelengths of internal ring.
The service from A to B is carried by λ21 (external ring), while the service from
B to A is carried by λ43 (internal ring). In this way, the operating wavelength
formed by λ21 and λ43 can be repeatedly used between other nodes on the ring
network. The λ21 of internal ring serves as the protection wavelength of external
ring λ21, while the λ43 wavelength of external ring serves as the protection
wavelength of internal ring λ43. Then the shared protection of multiple services
in the ring network is implemented.
3. Application features
· It is applicable to the loop protection.
· The service protection is based on the multiplex section. The switching depends
on the quality of the MS signals between adjacent nodes.
· In the loop, the directions of node receiving information and node transmitting
75
information are reverse. The resource utilization ratio is high.
· The switching is executed between adjacent nodes of the faulty span when a
fault occurs.
· While configuring the MS shared protection, at least one Optical MS Shared

Protection board with a band elimination optical switch (OPMSS) should be
configured in the loop to avoid self-stimulation.
76
Appendix A Abbreviations
Abbreviation Full Name

AFR Absolute Frequency Reference
AFEC Advanced FEC
AIS Alarm Indication Signal
APR Automatic Power Reduction
APS Automatic Protection Switching
APSD Automatic Power Shutdown
APSF Automatic Protection Switching for Fast Ethernet
ASE Amplified Spontaneous Emission
AWG Array Waveguide Grating
BER Bit Error Ratio
BLSR Bidirectional Line Switching Ring
BSHR Bidirectional Self-Healing Ring
CDR Clock and Data Recovery
CMI Code Mark Inversion
CODEC Code and Decode
CPU Center Process Unit
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
DBMS Database Management System
DCC Data Communications Channel
DCF Dispersion Compensation Fiber
DCG Dispersion Compensation Grating
DCN Data Communications Network
DCM Dispersion Compensation Module
DCF Dispersion Compensating Fiber
DDI Double Defect Indication
DFB-LD Distributed Feedback Laser Diode
DSF Dispersion Shifted Fiber
DGD Differential Group Delay
DTMF Dual Tone Multi-Frequence
DWDM Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
DXC Digital Cross-connect
EAM Electrical Absorption Modulation
ECC Embedded Control Channel
EDFA Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
77

EFEC Enhanced FEC
EX Extinction Ratio
FDI Forward Defection Indication
FEC Forward Error Correction
FPDC Fiber Passive Dispersion Compensator
FWM Four Wave Mixing
GbE Gigabits Ethernet
GUI Graphical User Interfaces
IP Internet Protocol
LD Laser Diode
MDI Multiple Document Interface
MCU Management and Control Unit
MOADM Metro Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer Equipment
MBOTU Sub-rack backplane for OTU
MQW Multiple Quantum Well
MSP Multiplex Section Protection
MST Multiplex Section Termination
NCP Net Control Processor
NDSF None Dispersion Shift Fiber
NE Network Element
NNI Network Node Interface
NMCC Network Manage Control Center
NRZ Non Return to Zero
NT Network Termination
NZDSF Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber
OA Optical Amplifier
OADM Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer
OBA Optical Booster Amplifier
Och Optical Channel
ODF Optical fiber Distribution Frame
ODU Optical Demultiplexer Unit
OGMD Optical Group Mux/DeMux Board
OHP Order wire
OHPF Overhead Processing Board for Fast Ethernet
OLA Optical Line Amplifier
OLT Optical Line Termination
OMU Optical Multiplexer Unit
ONU Optical Network Unit
OP Optical Protection Unit
78
Appendix A Abbreviations

OPA Optical Preamplifier Amplifier
OPM Optical Performance Monitor
OPMSN Optical Protect for Mux Section (without preventing resonance switch)
OPMSS Optical Protect for Mux Section (with preventing resonance switch）
OSC Optical Supervisory Channel
OSCF Optical Supervision channel for Fast Ethernet
OSNR Optical Signal-Noise Ratio
OTM Optical Terminal
OTN Optical Transport Network
OTU Optical Transponder Unit
OXC Optical Cross-connect
PDC Passive Dispersion Compensator
PMD Polarization Mode Dispersion
PDL Polarization Dependent Loss
RZ Return to Zero
SBS Stimulated Brillouin Scattering
SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
SDM Supervision add/drop multiplexing board
SEF Severely Error Frame
SES Severely Error Block Second
SFP Small Form Factor Pluggable
SLIC Subscriber Line Interface Circuit
SMCC Sub-network Management Control Center
SMT Surface Mount
SNMP Simple Network Management Protocol
SPM Self-Phase Modulation
SRS Stimulated Raman Scattering
STM Synchronous Transfer Mode
SWE Electrical Switching Board
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TFF Thin Film Filter
TMN Telecommunications Management Network
VOA Variable Optical Attenuator
WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing
XPM Cross-Phase Modulation
79

Fundamentals of DWDM Technology

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Fundamentals of DWDM Technology

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

ZTE UNIVERSITY

English Training Manual Template

·To master the fundamentals and key technologies of DWDM

·Modern Telecommunication Base and Technology

·Principle and Test of DWDM Transmission System

1 Introduction to DWDM ............................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Emergence and Background of DWDM ........................................................................................... 1

1.1.1 Evolution of Multiplexing Technology in Optical Network .................................................. 1

1.2 Overview of DWDM Technology..................................................................................................... 5

1.2.1 Comparison of Different Multiplexing Technologies............................................................. 5

1.2.2 Relationship Between DWDM and SDH............................................................................... 8

1.2.3 Introduction to Operating Wavelength ................................................................................. 10

1.3 Features and Advantages................................................................................................................. 16

1.4 Future Trends of DWDM Technology ............................................................................................ 17

2 Overview of Optical Fiber ....................................................................................................................... 21

2.1 Basic Knowledge of Optical Fiber .................................................................................................. 21

2.1.1 Structure of Optical Fiber..................................................................................................... 21

2.1.2 Classification of Optical Fiber ............................................................................................. 22

2.1.3 Working Frequency of Optical Fiber.................................................................................... 24

2.1.4 Types and Features of Common SMFs ................................................................................ 25

2.1.5 New Optical Fiber Types...................................................................................................... 26

2.2 Transmission Characteristics of Optical Fiber ................................................................................ 27

2.2.1 Loss ...................................................................................................................................... 27

2.2.2 Dispersion ............................................................................................................................ 29

2.2.3 Non-Linear Effect ................................................................................................................ 32

3 Key Technologies of DWDM System ...................................................................................................... 36

3.1 Basic Structure of DWDM System ................................................................................................. 36

3.3 Wavelength Division Multiplexing/Demultiplexing Technology ....................................................42

3.3.2 Introduction to Optical Multiplexer ......................................................................................42

3.3.3 Main Performance Indices ....................................................................................................45

3.4 OTU Technology .............................................................................................................................47

3.4.2 Working Principle and Performance Indices.........................................................................48

3.4.3 Classification and Application of OTU.................................................................................51

3.5 Optical Amplifying Technology ......................................................................................................52

3.5.1 EDFA Technology.................................................................................................................52

3.5.2 Raman Amplification Technology ........................................................................................58

3.6 Supervision Technology ..................................................................................................................60

3.6.1 Functions of Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC)................................................................61

3.6.2 Requirements for OSC..........................................................................................................61

3.6.3 Implementation of OSC ........................................................................................................62

4 Protection Principles of DWDM System.................................................................................................65

4.1 Introduction to DWDM System Hierarchy......................................................................................65

4.2 1+1 Protection..................................................................................................................................66

4.2.1 1+1 Protection in Chain Network .........................................................................................67

4.2.2 1+1 Protection in Ring Network...........................................................................................68

4.2.3 Features of 1+1 Protection....................................................................................................69

4.3 1:N Protection..................................................................................................................................69

4.3.1 Working Principle .................................................................................................................69

4.3.2 Implementation of 1:N Protection ........................................................................................70

4.3.3 Features of Channel 1:N Protection......................................................................................71

4.5 Two-Fiber Bidirectional MS Shared Protection .............................................................................. 73

z Basic concepts and background of the DWDM technology

z Future trends of the DWDM technology

1.1 Emergence and Background of DWDM

1.1.1 Evolution of Multiplexing Technology in Optical Network

Various transmission mediums are applied in telecommunication networks, such as

of multiplexing channels, which results in poor investment profit. The TDM

1.1.2 Evolution of Transmission Technology in Optical Network (PDH, SDH and

Table 1.1-1 PDH Bit Rate

2) There is no worldwide standard optical interface specification. Private optical

3) PDH is a multiplexing structure based on the point-to-point transmission. It only

multiplexing of high-order groups through the PDH technology, and

In mid-1980's, the Bell Communication Research Institute in USA put forward