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Lecturers:
Dr. An Tran Email: tranav@unimelb.edu.au Mr. Trevor Anderson Email: trevora@unimelb.edu.au Location: NICTA, Level 2, EEE Building 193
Contact Hours
Recommended Prerequisites:
Not required
Consultation:
To be determined We do not like pop-in. If urgent, can arrange appointment.
Course Information
References:
Optical Networks: A Practical Perspective by Rajiv Ramaswami and Kumar Sivarajan Ethernet Passive Optical Networks by Glen Kramer
Lecture notes
Available before the lecture. Students encouraged to read reference texts before lecture.
Additional notes
Will provide online links to other sources of helpful learning information.
Assessment
60% Final exam
Hurdle: need to pass exam to pass the subject
10% Assignments
Subject Objectives
Develop skills and knowledge in:
Fundamental optical network elements Optical network architectures ranging from optical access networks to backbone optical transport networks Approaches and methodologies of optical network design and optimization Techniques of optical network survivability Problem-solving skills and critical thinking in the discipline of optical networks
Syllabus
Introductions to optical communications and optical components SDH/SONET and Gigabit Ethernet Optical access networks (including EPON, GPON, WDM PON) Next-generation optical networks Optical performance monitoring Optical network control, management and survivability Energy efficiency issues in networks
Introduction
Recently, dramatic growth in demand for communication capacity
Internet growing at about 50% annually Huge bandwidth demand for new applications:
Video on demand Peer to peer traffic Interactive services
Speed of electronics is not increasing fast enough Only optical systems can provide the capacity for the future Optical communication systems are now the preferred technology for:
Long distance networks (undersea network, national networks) High capacity networks (optical LAN, fibre-to-the-home)
ELEN90034 Optical Networking and Design An Tran
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Optical signal is confined inside an optical fibre and isolated from surrounding environment. First-generation optical system: point-to-point, now evolving into optical network.
Coupler
A directional coupler is used to combine and split optical signals Couplers are made by fusing 2 fibers together in the middle, called fused fiber couplers. Can also be made from waveguides. Design parameters:
Wavelength selective or wavelength independent Coupling ratio Excess loss
Star Coupler
Isolators
An isolator is a passive nonreciprocal device.
Lightpath can be transmitted in one direction, but not in the opposite direction Example of application: anti-reflection
Isolator
Circulators
A circulator is similar to an isolator, except that it has multiple ports, typically three or four.
Example of application: OADM
Filter Characteristics
Insertion loss: loss from input to output Polarisation independence Temperature independence Flat passband measured by 1-dB bandwidth Sharp passband skirts (or slope)
Gratings
The term grating is used to describe almost any type of device whose operation involves interference among multiple optical signals originating from the same source but with different relative phase shifts In WDM systems, gratings used as demultiplexer/multiplexer to separate/combine individual wavelengths
Diffraction Gratings
Bragg Gratings
Any periodic perturbation in the propagating medium serves as a Bragg grating. This perturbation is usually a periodic variation of the refractive index of the medium
Fabry-Perot Filters
A Fabry-Perot filter consists of a cavity formed by two highly reflective mirrors placed parallel to each other
The input light beam to the filter enters the first mirror at right angles to its surface. The output of the filter is the light beam leaving the second mirror Interference occurs within the cavity
Advantages: can be tuned to select different WDM wavelengths by changing cavity length or refractive index. Used in Fabry-Perot lasers
ELEN90034 Optical Networking and Design An Tran
Mach-Zehnder Interferometers
MZI: interferometric device that makes use of two interfering paths of different lengths to resolve different wavelengths MZI consists of 2 3-dB couplers interconnected through 2 different paths Used as multiplexer/demultiplexer and tunable filter by changing temperature in one arm.
Used as multiplexer/demultiplexer or static wavelength crossconnect Temperature coefficient not low, require active temperature control
ELEN90034 Optical Networking and Design An Tran
AOTF (2)
Single-stage:
All the wavelengths are demultiplexed together in a single stage Lower loss and better loss uniformity No. of channels limited by device capability Eg: AWG
Multistage banding:
Divide wavelengths into bands Demultiplexing done in 2 stages Need a guard wavelength space between bands More scalable
Switches
Automatic provisioning of lightpath services: replacing fibre patch panels Protection switching in case of fiber and network failure Packet switching: packet-by-packet External modulation: in front of laser, switching time is fraction of bit duration Important parameters:
Extinction ratio: output power ratio in on and off states Insertion loss Crosstalk Polarisation dependent loss
Blocking: some interconnection pattern between unused input port and unused output can no be realised
ELEN90034 Optical Networking and Design An Tran
Crossbar Switch
Use 2x2 switches Wide-sense nonblocking nxn crossbar switch requires n2 2x2 switches. Large difference between shortest and longest path
Clos Switch
Strict-sense nonblocking Individual switch in each stage uses crossbar switch Use smaller no. of 2x2 switches and better loss uniformity
Spanke Switch
Strict-sense nonblocking Use n 1xn and n nx1 switches Use smaller no. of switches Low insertion and uniform loss
Benes Switch
Rearrangeably nonblocking Use smallest no. of 2x2 switches Uniform loss Require waveguide crossover, hard to fabricate
Spanke-Benes Switch
Rearrangeably nonblocking Requires n stages to realise nxn switch No waveguide crossover Non-uniform loss
MEMS switch
Electro-Optic Switches
Constructed using Lithium Niobate Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Applying voltage to change refractive index in coupling region Relatively fast switching speed Can integrate into large switches High loss and more expensive than mechanical switches
ELEN90034 Optical Networking and Design An Tran
Thermo-Optic Switches
Constructed using MachZehnder Interferometer Applying temperature to change refractive index in coupling region Slow switching speed Poor crosstalk
Use semiconductor optical amplifier as on-off device by changing bias voltage Large extinction ratio Fast switching speed SOA is expensive and polarisation dependence
Lasers
Two types:
Semiconductor lasers use semiconductors as gain medium - most popular type of laser due to small size and low cost Fiber lasers use erbium-doped fiber as gain medium
Principle of operation:
Optical energy is reflected at the ends of the amplifying or gain medium or cavity, which forms an oscillation if optical waves add in phase at the ends (resonant wavelengths of the cavity) The parameters of the cavity, e.g., cavity length, determines the emitting wavelength of a laser
Lasers (2)
Lasing threshold: beyond this, the device produces light output, even in the absence of input signal This is due to spontaneous emission gets amplified without input signal and appears as light output. This is called stimulated emission. Multiple wavelengths exist within cavity if cavity length is integral multiple of half the wavelength. Multiple-longitudinal mode (MLM) laser (e.g. Fabry-Perot laser): large spectral width around 10 nm with multiple modes, not suitable for highspeed communication due to chromatic dispersion and crosstalk. Single-longitudinal mode (SLM) laser: narrow spectral width using filtering
Tunable lasers
Important for WDM and reconfigurable network External cavity lasers: varying angle and distance from grating to cavity Tunable VCSELs: adjusting cavity length by applying voltage to upper and lower mirrors Two- and three-section DBR lasers: injecting current to change wavelength and power
Direct Modulation
On-off keying (OOK): light stream is turned on and off depending on data bit 1 or 0. Drive current set well above threshold for 1 bit and below threshold for 0 bit. Direct modulation: simple and inexpensive. Disadvantage: chirped pulses, where frequency varies with time, causing broadening of transmitted spectrum. Chirped pulses have much shorter transmission limit than unchirped pulses.
External Modulation
External modulator in front of light source, turns light on and off. Light source is continuously operated. Two ways to generate RZ pulses:
Using mode-locked laser to generate periodic pulses then standard modulator Using 2-stage modulator to impose clock signals before data signals.
Photodetectors
Principle of operation: incident photon absorbed by electrons in valence band, then electrons excited to conduction band leaving a hole. When voltage applied, electron-hole pairs give rise to electrical current. In practice, use semiconductor pn junction to improve efficiency Two types:
PIN photodiode: use intrinsic semiconductor between pn junction Avalanche photodiode: have higher gain by applying higher electric field
Front-End Amplifiers
Two types:
High-impedance front-end amplifier Transimpendance front-end amplifier: higher dynamic range and better noise performance