A Review Article on the Recent Advancement in WDM Passive Optical

Network (PON) Technology

Yahya Muhammad Adam Al Adhami Mahmood Mazin Abubakar Abdullahi
2019623526 2019559739 2019825602
yahyameenadamu@gmail.co Mahmood.mazin@gmail.com abubakarabdullahi536@gma
m i.com

ABSTRACT
Passive optical network is an optical fiber based network that can provide a high bandwidth,
Incorporating wavelength-division multiplexing in a passive optical network can produce much higher
bandwidth compared to standard passive optical network, however, wavelength-division multiplexing
passive optical network is not considered a cost effective approach. In this article we will discuss the
recent advancement in wavelength-division multiplexing In particular wavelength-division
multiplexing passive optical network based on the RSOA and digital coherent detection technique. In
addition, we demonstrated the possibility of realizing the 100-Gb/s WDM PON cost-effectively by
using the RSOAs and CWDM technique.

1. INTRODUCTION assumptions has been made: the use of colorless

The passive optical network (PON) is an optical
fiber based network architecture, which can
provide much higher bandwidth in the access
network compared to traditional copper-based
networks. Incorporating wavelength-division
multiplexing (WDM) in a PON allows one to
support much higher bandwidth compared to the
standard PON, which operates in the “single-
wavelength mode” where one wavelength is
used for upstream transmission and a separate
one is used for downstream
transmission.(1)Moreover, WDM has its own
intrinsic advantages such as increased capacity,
privacy, security, upgradability, provisioning
ease, and diagnostic capabilities.(2) WDM PON
has long been considered as an ultimate solution
for the next-generation access network capable
of providing unlimited bandwidth to each
subscriber.(3) On the other hand, it is still
considered to be too expensive for the massive
deployment. Thus, the competitiveness of WDM
PON is yet to be improved for the commercial
success. For this purpose, the operating speed
need to be maximized. Nevertheless, the
increased speed and reach may not be helpful
unless it is cost-effective. Thus the following
optical network units, the usage of bidirectional
single-fiber systems, avoiding expensive
external modulators and optical amplifiers
without restraint.(4)
WDM PON based on the reflective
semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA) is
considered as one of the most plausible
configurations that can satisfy these
assumptions.(5) hence, our goal is to develop
cost-effective methods for increasing the per-
wavelength speed of such a network to >10 Gb/s
and the maximum reach to >100 km without
using any optical amplifiers.
This paper will discuss the progress in WDM,
also introduce the recent attempt to realize a cost-
effective RSOA-based WDM PON operating at
100 Gb/s.
WDM PON based on Phase-Modulated
RSOAs and Digital Coherent Receivers
To enhance operating range of the WDM PON
several steps need to be taken into account such
as using un-cooled RSOAs, effects of reflection
in the RSOA-based WDM PON and its
mitigation methods, 10-Gb/s operation of the
bandwidth-limited RSOAs by using electronic
equalizers and FEC codes, and increased
maximum reach to >100 km by using a novel
self-homodyne receiver.
ENHANCED OPERATING RANGE OF
WDM PON IMPLEMENTED BY USING
UN-COOLED RSOAS
One of the most critical issues in the development
of the practical WDM PON is the cost and
reliability of the colorless light sources used in
optical network units (ONUs). An important
factor affecting this problem is the temperature
dependence of these light sources, as their un-
cooled operation is indispensable. Previously, the
operating temperature ranges for various types of
colorless light sources such as the ASE-injected
FP laser and the RSOA have been evaluated
experimentally.(6) It is necessary to take into
account the temperature dependence of not only
the gain (i.e., the output power of the upstream
transmitter) but also the modulation
characteristics such as the bandwidth and
extinction ratio (ER). We investigate the
temperature-dependent characteristics of the
RSOA with these considerations, and evaluate
the operating range of a 1.25 Gb/s WDM PON
implemented by using un-cooled RSOAs. For
this evaluation, we assume that the WDM PON is
configured in a loop-back architecture. The
results show that the error-free operation of this
network cannot be achieved at high temperatures
since the modulation bandwidth of the RSOA is
significantly reduced at the temperature above
40°C. To overcome this limitation by utilizing a
simple bias-control circuit, in which the bias
current is controlled stepwise according to the
operating temperature of the RSOA. Using this
circuit, we have demonstrated that the operable
wavelength range of an RSOA-based WDM PON
can be extended to ~55 nm in the temperature
range of −20∼+60∘C.(7)
2. OBJECTIVES OF WDM (PON)
1. To multiply the effective bandwidth of
a fiber optic communications system
2. A fiber optic repeater device called the
erbium amplifier can make WDM a cost-
effective and it is the long-term solution.
3. This reduces the cost and increases the
capacity of the cable to carry data.
4. Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
uses multiple wavelengths (colors of light)
to transport signals over a single fiber.
5. It uses light of different colours to create a
number of signal paths.
6. It uses Optical prisms to separate the
different colours at the receiving end and
optical prisms does not require power
source.
7. These systems used temperature stabilized
lasers to provide the needed channels count.
3. BENEFITS OF WDM
The foundation of WDM lies in the ability
to send different data types over fiber
networks in the form of light. By allowing
different light channels, each with a unique
wavelength to be sent simultaneously over
an optical fiber network a single virtual fiber
network is created. Instead of using multiple
fibers for each and every service, a single
fiber can be shared for several services. In
this way, WDM increases the bandwidth
and maximizes the usefulness of fiber.
Fiber rental or purchase represents a
significant share of networking costs. So
using an existing fiber to transport multiple
traffic channels can generate substantial
savings.
Fig. 1 Diagram of WDM Maximization

In its simplest form WDM systems consist of four
elements:
Fig.2 Block Diagram of WDM System
4. EFFECTS OF REFLECTION IN
RSOA-BASED WDM PON
For the realization of a practical WDM PON, the
wavelength-independent operation of the ONU is
indispensable. The most common technique used
to solve this problem is implementing the WDM
PON in a loop-back configuration, in which the
seed light provided from the CO is modulated
with the upstream data at the ONU and sent back
to the CO. For this modulation of the seed light,
various types of colorless light sources have been
proposed and demonstrated including the
RSOAs, ASE-injected FP lasers, and electro-
absorption modulators integrated with optical
amplifiers. Recently, there have been numerous
reports on the WDM PONs implemented by
using such colorless light sources. In particular,
the RSOA-based WDM PON implemented in a
single-fiber loop-back configuration appears to
have a great potential for practical deployment.
However, this network utilizes the same
wavelength for the upstream and downstream
signal. In addition, these signals are propagating
within the same fiber due to the single-fiber loop-
back configuration. As a result, the system's
performance is bound to be vulnerable to the
unwanted external reflections. Thus, for the
practical design of such a network, it is crucial to
understand the effects of the external reflections.
To mitigate the effects of the reflection, we have
either increased the orthogonality between the
upstream and downstream signals (by using the
Manchester coding or sub-carrier multiplexing),
or used the seed light with a broad optical
spectrum (by using the ASE source as the seed
light or dithering the downstream signal used as
the seed light).(5,8)
10-GB/S OPERATION OF RSOA-BASED
WDM PON
Although the WDM PON has been considered as
an ultimate solution for the next-generation
broadband access network capable of providing
practically unlimited amount of data to each
subscriber, most demonstrations have been
achieved at the moderate speeds in the range
of 155 Mb/s∼5 Gb.(9)This is mainly because of
the limited bandwidths of directly-modulated
colorless light sources. A simple method to
overcome this limitation and increase the
transmission speed to >10 Gb/s would be the use
of the high-speed external modulators at the
ONUs.(10) However, since this method requires
an additional 10 Gb/s modulator at every ONU, it
is not realistic for the use in the cost-sensitive
access networks. It has also been proposed to
overcome this limitation by using the FP lasers
injection-locked to the seed light provided from
the CO. However, although this laser can be
directly-modulated at 10 Gb/s, the colorless
operation is not possible due to its extremely
narrow lock-in range (~0.02 nm). To solve this
problem, we have demonstrated the feasibility of
implementing a 10 Gb/s WDM PON by using
directly-modulated RSOAs together with
electronic equalizers. The modulation bandwidth
of the RSOA, limited by carrier lifetime, is only
about 2 GHz. Thus, it is nearly impossible to
operate such a slow device at 10 Gb/s. However,
unlike semiconductor lasers, we note that the
frequency response of the RSOA has a smooth
roll-off with no relaxation oscillation peak, while
its modulation has a good linearity similar to the
laser diode. These properties are almost ideal for
the electronic equalization using the decision
feedback equalizer (DFE) consisted of feed-
forward and feedback filters.(11) Thus, despite its
extremely limited bandwidth, it is possible to
operate the RSOA at 10 Gb/s by using the
electronic equalization technique.
 LONG-REACH WDM PON
IMPLEMENTED BY USING COHERENT
RECEIVER
The RSOA-based WDM PON is usually
configured in loop-back architecture for the
colorless operation of the ONU. Thus, the seed
light provided from the CO is modulated by the
RSOA at the ONU, and is send back to the CO as
the upstream signal. As a result, the maximum
reach is likely to be limited by the power budget
for the upstream signal. In principle, there are two
ways to improve the power budget for the
upstream signal; increase the seed power and
improve the receiver sensitivity. However, if we
simply increase the seed power, the reflection
tolerance can be deteriorated since the power of
the reflected seed light is also increased.(12) The
receiver sensitivity can be improved by using
either the coherent receiver or the optical pre-
amplifier. In particular, the use of the coherent
receiver may enable us to achieve the quantum-
limited receiver sensitivity. However, the
feasibility of using the coherent receiver is still
not clear since it requires an extra light source for
the local oscillator (LO) with troublesome
frequency control. To solve these problems, we
have implemented an RSOA-based WDM PON
by using a novel self-homodyne receiver, the
proposed self-homodyne receiver does not
require any extra light source.(13)
Cost-effective 100-Gb/s WDM PON based on
RSOA
Due to the recent standardization activities of 100
Gigabit Ethernet (100 GbE), there have been
some interests in the future optical access
network capable of providing 100-Gb/s service to
each subscriber. For example, it has been recently
demonstrated that 100-Gb/s WDM PON can be
implemented by using the optical orthogonal-
frequency division-multiplexing (OFDM)
technique. However, it may be difficult to realize
these networks cost-effectively since the OFDM
technique requires the use of high-speed
electronics as well as complex optical circuits for
subcarrier multiplexing. Thus, we consider the
feasibility of implementing the 100-Gb/s WDM
PON by using four coarse WDM (CWDM)
channels operating at 25 Gb/s as in the
100GBASE-LR4 specifications. Also, to enhance
the cost-effectiveness, we assume to use the
colorless light source such as the RSOA at the
ONU. However, although this method can
significantly relax the speed requirement of the
optoelectronic components (as the channel rate
becomes one fourth), it is not a simple task to
operate the RSOA at ~25 Gb/s due to its narrow
modulation bandwidth (~2 GHz).To cope with
this problem, there have been several attempts to
compensate this limited bandwidth by using the
electronic equalizers, narrow optical filters, and
advanced modulation formats .However, the
demonstrated modulation speed of the RSOA has
been limited to ~12 Gb/s. To overcome this
problem, we have recently demonstrated the
transmission of the 25.78-Gb/s signal obtained by
directly-modulating an RSOA over 20-km long
SMF by using the electronic equalization and
forward-error-correction (FEC) techniques. The
result indicates that, if necessary, we can even
implement 100-Gb/s WDM PON cost-effectively
by using directly-modulated RSOAs and CWDM
technology(7,14).
5. CONCLUSION
We reviewed the recent advancement in the
WDM PON technology. In particular, we
reported the progresses in the high-speed and
long-reach WDM PON based on the RSOA and
digital coherent detection technique. In addition,
we demonstrated the possibility of realizing the
100-Gb/s WDM PON cost-effectively by using
the RSOAs and CWDM technique. The
performance of WDM networks is strongly
influenced by nonlinearity characteristic inside
the fiber. Therefore the nonlinearity effects of
fiber optics pose an additional limitation in WDM
systems.
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Team members wish to express sincere gratitude
to Dr Maz Izyani, for her guidance and support.
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