OLT

The Features of OLT

The OLT sends Ethernet data to the ONU, initiates and controls the ranging process,
and records the ranging information. It provides numerous prominent features listed as
follows.

A downstream frame processing means for receiving and churning an asynchronous

transfer mode cell to generate a downstream frame, and converting a parallel data of
the downstream frame into a serial data thereof.

A wavelength division multiplexing means for performing an electro/optical conversion

of the serial data of the downstream frame and performing a wavelength division
multiplexing thereof.

An upstream frame processing means for extracting data from the wavelength division
multiplexing means, searching an overhead field, delineating a slot boundary, and
processing a physical layer operations administration and maintenance (PLOAM) cell
and a divided slot separately.

A control signal generation means for performing a media access control (MAC)
protocol and generating variables and timing signals used for the downstream frame
processing means and the upstream frame processing means.

A control means for controlling the downstream frame processing means and the
upstream frame processing means by using the variables and the timing signals from
the control signal generation means.

The Functions of OLT

OLT is generally employed for terminal connected to the fiber backbone. An OLT has
two primary functions:

Converting the standard signals use by a FiOS service provider to the frequency and
framing used by the PON system;

Coordinating the multiplexing between the conversion devices on the optical network
terminals (OLTs) located on the customers’ premises.

The Role of OLT in GPON Network

As it was mentioned above there are two functions performed by OLT, and the main
function of OLT is to control the information float across the optical distribution network
(ODN), going both directions, while being located in a central office. Maximum distance
supported for transmitting across the ODN is 20 km. OLT has two float directions:
upstream (getting an distributing different type of data and voice traffic from users) and
downstream (getting data, voice and video traffic from metro network or from a long-
haul network and send it to all ONT modules on the ODN.

Active PON

As we see from the picture above, OLT is designed for controlling more than one PON
(in this example it serves for four independent networks). We can see that if every PON
has 32 connections, OLT can distribute data to 128 ONTs. OLT has specific standard,
so it would work with ONT from different manufacturers.

Conclusion

The OLT now has been widely adopted in fiber optic network access in counties, towns
and villages. It can help efficiently reduce network construction cost, while
simultaneously providing a guarantee on high bandwidth and high integration. And it is
proved to be an ideal and constructive solution to FTTx projects.
OPTICAL POWER BUDGET AND MARGIN CALCULATION
The key to network distance is optical power budget: the amount of light available to
make a fiber optic connection. Optical loss or total attenuation is the sum of the losses of
each individual component between a transmitter and receiver including fiber, splices,
couplers and other optical devices. The loss is relative to the transmitter output power
and affects the required receiver input power. Loss budget calculation analysis is the
calculation and verification of a fiber optic system’s operating chara cteristics.
Transmitter launch level power, receiver sensitivity and the dynamic range are crucial
number used in span analysis. The overall span loss or link budget can be determined
using an optical power meter to measure the true loss or by computing th e loss of
system components. Typically, the safety margin sets aside 3 dB. This number will be
different for every organization depending on how much risk they want to assume in their
network. To guarantee error free operation, a value no less than 1.7 dB should be used.
This safety factor is subtracted from the remaining power from above. If the number is
still positive after all of this, you can be assured that your fiber network will deliver the
required performance over the life of the installation (Transition Networks, 1999).
Power at a particular wavelength generated by the transmitter Light Emitting Diode
(LED) or Laser Diode (LD) used to launch the signal is known as the transmitter launch
level. Receiver sensitivity and dynamic range are the minimum acceptable value of
received power needed to achieve an acceptable Bit Error Rate (BER) or performance.
Receivers have to cope with optical inputs as high as -5 dBm and as low as -30 dBm, the
receiver needs an optical dynamic range of 25 dB. To ensure that the fiber system has
sufficient power for correct operation, a span’s power budget, which is the maximum
amount of power it can transmit, is calculated. From a design perspective, worst case
analysis calls for assuming minimum transmitter power and minimum receiver sensitivity.
This provides for a margin that compensates for variations of transmitter power and
receiver sensitivity levels. With minimum transmit power and minimum receive sensitivity
data, we can now calculate the available light. Factors that can cause span or link loss
include fiber attenuation, splice loss, connector loss, chromatic dispersion and other
linear and non-linear losses. Power margin, P M, represents the amount of power
available after subtracting linear and non linear span losses from the power budget.
The ability of a receiver to identify and amplify signals at the receivers input is called Receiver
Sensitivity. It is expressed in dBm. The receiver sensitivity level tells us the weakest signal that a
receiver will be able to identify and process. It can be improved by reducing the noise level and
bandwidth of the receiver.

The transmitter takes an electrical input and converts it to an optical

output from a laser diode or LED. The light from the transmitter is coupled
into the fiber with a connector and is transmitted through the fiber optic cable
plant. The light from the end of the fiber is coupled to a receiver where a
detector converts the light into an electrical signal which is then conditioned
properly for use by the receiving equipment.

Sources for Fiber Optic Transmitters

The sources used for fiber optic transmitters need to meet several criteria: it
has to be at the correct wavelength, be able to be modulated fast enough to
transmit data and be efficiently coupled into fiber.

Four types of sources are commonly used, LEDs, fabry-perot (FP)

lasers, distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and vertical cavity surface-emitting
lasers (VCSELs). All convert electrical signals into optical signals, but are
otherwise quite different devices. All three are tiny semiconductor devices
(chips). LEDs and VCSELs are fabricated on semiconductor wafers such that
they emit light from the surface of the chip, while f-p lasers emit from the side
of the chip from a laser cavity created in the middle of the chip.

LEDs have much lower power outputs than lasers and their larger, diverging
light output pattern makes them harder to couple into fibers, limiting them to
use with multimode fibers. Laser have smaller tighter light outputs and are
easily coupled to singlemode fibers, making them ideal for long distance high
speed links. LEDs have much less bandwidth than lasers and are limited to
systems operating up to about 250 MHz or around 200 Mb/s. Lasers have
very high bandwidth capability, most being useful to well over 10 GHz or 10
Gb/s.
Because of their fabrication methods, LEDs and VCSELs are cheap to make.
Lasers are more expensive because creating the laser cavity inside the device
is more difficult, the chip must be separated from the semiconductor wafer
and each end coated before the laser can even be tested to see if its good.

Detectors for Fiber Optic Receivers

Receivers use semiconductor detectors (photodiodes or photodetectors) to

convert optical signals to electrical signals. Silicon photodiodes are used for
short wavelength links (650 for POF and 850 for glass MM fiber). Long
wavelength systems usually use InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide) detectors
as they have lower noise than germanium which allows for more sensitive
receivers.

Packaging

Transcivers are usually packaged in industry standard packages like these

XFP modules for gigabit datalinks(L) and Xenpak (R). The XFP modules
connect to a duplex LC connector on the optical end and a standard electrical
interface on the other end. The Xenpak are for 10 gigabit networks but use SC
duplex connection. Both are similar to media converters but are powered from
the equipment they are built into.

Performance

Just as with copper wire or radio transmission, the performance of the fiber
optic data link can be determined by how well the reconverted electrical signal
out of the receiver matches the input to the transmitter. The discussion of
performance on datalinks applies directly to transceivers which supply the
optical to electrical conversion.
Every manufacturer of transceivers specifies their product for receiver
sensitivity (perhaps a minimum power required) and minimum power coupled
into the fiber from the source. Those specifications will end up being the
datalink specifications on the final product used in the field.

All datalinks are limited by the power budget of the link. The power budget is
the difference between the output power of the transmitter and the input
power requirements of the receiver. The receiver has an operating range
determined by the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) in the receiver. The S/N ratio is
generally quoted for analog links while the bit-error-rate (BER) is used for
digital links. BER is practically an inverse function of S/N.

The operating range of a data link will look like this figure of BER vs received
optical power for a typical fiber optic transceiver. There must be a minimum
power at the receiver to provide an acceptable S/N or BER. As the power
increases, the BER or S/N improves until the signal becomes so high it
overloads the receiver and receiver performance degrades rapidly.
Power Budgets And Loss Budgets

The terms "power budget" and "loss budget" are often confused.

The power budget refers to the amount of loss that a datalink (transmitter to
receiver) can tolerate in order to operate properly. Sometimes the power
budget has both a minimum and maximum value, which means it needs at
least a minimum value of loss so that it does not overload the receiver and a
maximum value of loss to ensure the receiver has sufficient signal to operate
properly.

The loss budget is the amount of loss that a cable plant should have. It is
calculated by adding the estimated average losses of all the components used
in the cable plant to get the estimated total end-to-end loss. The loss budget
has two uses, 1) during the design stage it is used to ensure the cabling being
designed will work with the links intended to be used over it and 2) after
installation, the loss budget for the cabling is compared to the calculated loss
to test results to ensure the cable plant is installed properly.

Fiber optic patch cords and pigtails structurally have much in

common. They are both available in single mode and multi-mode,
and they can be made into simplex and duplex.
1550 nm Transmitter

To handle large amounts of fiber optic with lower cost and higher flexibility, various
optical distribution frames (ODF) are being widely used to the connector and schedule
optical fiber. Choosing right fiber optic distribution frames is the key to successful cable
management.

What Is ODF?
An optical distribution frame (ODF) is a frame used to provide cable interconnections between
communication facilities, which can integrate fiber splicing, fiber termination, fiber optic adapters &
connectors and cable connections together in a single unit. It can also work as a protective device to
protect fiber optic connections from damage. The basic functions of ODFs provided by today's
vendors are almost the same. However, they come into different shapes and specifications. To
choose the right ODF is not an easy thing.

Optical Variable Attenuator

Optical variable attenuator, or variable optical attenuator, generally uses a variable neutral density
filter. It has advantages of being stable, wavelength insensitive, mode insensitive, and offering a
large dynamic range. Variable optical attenuator is generally used for testing and measurement, but
it is also widely adopted in EDFAs (Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier) for equalizing the light power
among different channels. Basically, there are two types of optical variable attenuator: stepwise
variable attenuator and continuously variable attenuator. Stepwise variable attenuator can change
the attenuation of the signal in known steps such as 0.1 dB, 0.5 dB or 1 dB. Continuously variable
optical attenuator produces precise level of attenuation with flexible adjustment. Thus, operators are
able to adjust the attenuator to accommodate the changes required quickly and precisely without
any interruption to the circuit.
NETWORK ARCHITECTURE W/ SOURCE OF DATA
Testing The Power Budget For A Link

How is the power budget determined? You test the link under operating
conditions and insert loss while watching the data transmission quality. The
test setup is like this:

Connect the transmitter and receiver with patchcords to a variable attenuator.

Increase attenuation until you see the link has a high bit-error rate (BER for
digital links) or poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR for analog links). By measuring
the output of the transmitter patchcord (point #1) and the output of the
receiver patchcord (point #2), you can determine the maximum loss of the
link and the maximum power the receiver can tolerate.