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Preface
• Chapter 1 gives the motivations and advantages for using optical fibers, the spectral
bands of interest, methods used to boost the transmission capacity of an optical
fiber, and what standards are being applied.
• Despite its apparent simplicity, an optical fiber is one of the most important
elements in a fiber link. Chapter 2 gives details on the physical structures,
constituent materials, and lightwave propagation mechanisms of optical fibers.
• Chapter 3 gives details on the attenuation behavior and signal dispersion characteristics of the wide variety of common optical fibers. In addition, the chapter
discusses international standards for manufacturing optical fibers.
• Chapter 4 addresses the structures, light-emitting principles, operating characteristics of light sources, and optical signal modulation techniques.
• How to couple the light source to a fiber is described in Chap. 5, as well as how
to join two fibers in order to ensure a low optical power loss at the joints.
• Chapter 6 covers the structures and performances of photodetectors. Because an
optical signal generally is weakened and distorted at the end of link, the photodetector must possess a high sensitivity, have a fast response time, and add minimum
noise effects to the system. In addition, its size must be compatible with that of
the fiber output.
• The lightwave receiver detects an arriving optical signal and converts it into an
electrical signal for information processing. Chapter 7 describes receiver principles and functions, which include signal detection statistics and eye diagram error
measurements schemes.
• Chapter 8 discusses digital link design methods including power budgets and
bandwidth limitations. In addition, the topics include power penalties, basic
coherent detection schemes, and details of error control methods for digital
signals.
• Chapter 9 examines the concepts of analog links for sending radio frequency (RF)
signals at microwave frequencies over optical fibers. An expanding application
of these techniques is for broadband radio-over-fiber networks.
• Chapter 10 addresses wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), examines the
functions of a generic WDM link, and discusses international standards for
different WDM schemes. It also includes descriptions of passive WDM devices,
such as fiber Bragg gratings, thin-film filters, and various types of gratings.
• Chapter 11 describes the concepts for creating optical amplification and the applications of these devices. Among the topics are semiconductor optical amplifiers,
doped fiber amplifiers, and Raman amplification schemes.
• Chapter 12 is devoted to the origins and effects of nonlinear processes in optical
fibers. Some of these nonlinear effects degrade system performance and need to
be controlled, whereas others can have beneficial uses.
• Chapter 13 is devoted to optical networking concepts for long distance, metro, data
center, and access networks. Among the topics are optical add/drop multiplexing
and optical cross-connects, wavelength routing, optical packet switching, optical
burst switching, and passive optical networks.
Preface
• Chapter 1 gives the motivations and advantages for using optical fibers, the spectral
bands of interest, methods used to boost the transmission capacity of an optical
fiber, and what standards are being applied.
• Despite its apparent simplicity, an optical fiber is one of the most important
elements in a fiber link. Chapter 2 gives details on the physical structures,
constituent materials, and lightwave propagation mechanisms of optical fibers.
• Chapter 3 gives details on the attenuation behavior and signal dispersion characteristics of the wide variety of common optical fibers. In addition, the chapter
discusses international standards for manufacturing optical fibers.
• Chapter 4 addresses the structures, light-emitting principles, operating characteristics of light sources, and optical signal modulation techniques.
• How to couple the light source to a fiber is described in Chap. 5, as well as how
to join two fibers in order to ensure a low optical power loss at the joints.
• Chapter 6 covers the structures and performances of photodetectors. Because an
optical signal generally is weakened and distorted at the end of link, the photodetector must possess a high sensitivity, have a fast response time, and add minimum
noise effects to the system. In addition, its size must be compatible with that of
the fiber output.
• The lightwave receiver detects an arriving optical signal and converts it into an
electrical signal for information processing. Chapter 7 describes receiver principles and functions, which include signal detection statistics and eye diagram error
measurements schemes.
• Chapter 8 discusses digital link design methods including power budgets and
bandwidth limitations. In addition, the topics include power penalties, basic
coherent detection schemes, and details of error control methods for digital
signals.
• Chapter 9 examines the concepts of analog links for sending radio frequency (RF)
signals at microwave frequencies over optical fibers. An expanding application
of these techniques is for broadband radio-over-fiber networks.
• Chapter 10 addresses wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), examines the
functions of a generic WDM link, and discusses international standards for
different WDM schemes. It also includes descriptions of passive WDM devices,
such as fiber Bragg gratings, thin-film filters, and various types of gratings.
• Chapter 11 describes the concepts for creating optical amplification and the applications of these devices. Among the topics are semiconductor optical amplifiers,
doped fiber amplifiers, and Raman amplification schemes.
• Chapter 12 is devoted to the origins and effects of nonlinear processes in optical
fibers. Some of these nonlinear effects degrade system performance and need to
be controlled, whereas others can have beneficial uses.
• Chapter 13 is devoted to optical networking concepts for long distance, metro, data
center, and access networks. Among the topics are optical add/drop multiplexing
and optical cross-connects, wavelength routing, optical packet switching, optical
burst switching, and passive optical networks.