Chapter 7

Lightwave Transmission
Systems: Basics
John Xiupu Zhang
 Telecommunications
Transport information,
over a long distance,
with as few errors as possible.
Considerations:
• Cost
• Reliability
• Compatibility with existing methods
• Upgradability
• Security
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 Which Communication Media ?
• Atmosphere
– Radio transmission
– Microwave line-of-sight links(100 Mbit/s, 50 km)
– Satellite (100 Mbit/s, around the world)

• Cables
– Twisted-pair cable (2 Mbit/s, 2 km)
– Coaxial cable (>500 Mbit/s, few km)
– Undersea cable (50 Mbit/s)

• Optical Fiber

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 Why Optical Fibers?
• High transmission bandwidth and low loss
– 10 Gbit/s over 100 km (single fiber, single
transmission wavelength without amplifier)
– > 200 Gbit/s using multiple wavelength carriers
– > 20,000 km at 10 Gbit/s using amplifiers

• Free of electromagnetic interference

• Small size and low weight

• Increased data security

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 An Optical Communication
System

Information Recovered
Sources Information

Electronic Signal Processing

Optical
Source
Photo-detection

Modulator Optical Signal Processing

Channel
Transmitter (Fiber) Receiver

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 Types of Optical
Communication Systems
Analog Optical Communications
1

0.5

0.5

-0.5

-0.5

-1
0 200 400 600 800 1000
-1
0 200 400 600 800 1000

Transmitter Receiver
Optical Fiber

• information represented by analog waveforms

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 Types of Optical
Communication Systems
Digital Optical Communications

…101110010 …101010110…

Transmitter Receiver
Optical Fiber

• information represented by digital (binary) bits

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 Transmitter
A Typical Transmitter

Data ..011010..
Modulator Laser
Source

• Intensity modulation (laser directly modulated)

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 Channel
Channel Effects

Loss

Distortion
Optical Fiber

• Loss and distortion act simultaneously

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 Optical Amplifier

• A Typical Optical Amplifier

• Signal level increased

• Noise added

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 Receiver
A Typical Receiver

Photo- Electrical
detector Filter

…011010… Decoder

• optical signal is directly detected by photodetector

• noise is added, requires filter to reduce it

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 System Performance
• Signal waveform in time domain
Equipment Resolution
Oscilloscope: ~ 100 ps
Sampling Scope ~ 20 ps
Streak Camera ~ 2 ps
Auto-correlator ~ 10 - 100 fs

Typical Result of
SignalAnalyzer
(Scope view)

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 Evaluating System
Performance
• Optical spectrum

Lasing wavelength
Linewidth
Noise



Typical Result of
SignalAnalyzer
(OSA view)

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 Evaluating System
Performance
• RF Spectrum

RF components at fo, 2fo, 3fo…

Repetition rate
Phase noise
Typical Result of RIN

SignalAnalyzer 

(RFSA view)

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 Evaluating System
Performance
• Eye diagram
























Detected bit stream waveform

Timing
Intensity fluctuation
fluctuation

Bits overlaid to form Eye diagram

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 Evaluating System
Performance
• Bit Error Ratio (BER)
Number of bits detected incorrectly
BER =
Total number of bits transmitted

How is the BER of a system obtained?

• Directly detect the bits and compare against original

Transmitted: …00100110010111010011000101010010011…
Detected: …00100010010110010011010101011010011…

• Estimate from Eye diagrams (statistical)

• Other methods (to be discussed in another module)
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 Design Goals

Fiber-Optic Communications Link

Long Distance Large (High) Bit Rate

Low BER (ideally zero)

10-9 or less in practice
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 Design Constraints
•Fiber loss

•Pulse spreading

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 What causes pulse spreading?
spectrum of pulses:
P

• Different wavelengths travel at different speeds in fiber

P P

t t
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 Design Constraints
Transmission distance is limited by:

Loss

Receiver

1011 1111

Spreading

Receiver

1011 1111
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 Design Constraints
Bit Rate is limited by:

Spreading over long distance

Receiver

1011 1111

Spreading due to pulse chirp

Receiver

1011 1111
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 Design Constraints
Limits can be represented graphically
Bit Rate

Dispersion & Loss

Disp Limited
ersio
n Limi
t

Feasible

Los
Regime

sL
Costly!

imi
tDistance
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 Easing Design Constraints
Loss limited systems can be improved:
By Improving:
• transmitter
- increase power
Bit Rate

Disp • receiver
er sion - increase
Limi
t sensitivity
• fiber
- lower loss
Feasible Los

Los
By adding:
sL

sL
Infeasible
imi

imi • optical
t

t amplifiers
Distance
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 Easing Design Constraints
Dispersion limited systems can be improved:
By Improving:
• transmitter
- lower chirp
Bit Rate

Disp
er sion - external
Limi
Disp t modulation
er sion
Limi • fiber
t
- reduce
dispersion
Feasible Los

By adding:
sL

Infeasible
imi

• dispersion
t

compensators
Distance
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 System Design Flow Chart
System Specifications
Bit Error Rate
Distance Bit Rate

Transmitter Transmitter
Chirp Fiber Loss Output Power

Fiber Power
Optical
Dispersion Budget
Amplifier

Transmitte Fiber Type Receiver

r Type Dispersion Sensitivity
Compensator
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 Link Power Budget

Transmitte Receiver
r Channel (Fiber)

Item Value dB value

Transmitter:
1a) Average output power 1.0 mW 0.0 dBm
Channel:
2a) Propagation losses 1% Trans. -20.0 dB
Receiver:
3a) Signal power at receiver -20.0 dBm
3b) Receiver sensitivity -30.0 dBm
Link Margin (Power Margin) = (3a – 3b) +10.0 dB

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 Components of Fiber
System Link Budget
Laser
power

-modulation -fiber coupling -other optical

losses
Transmitter
losses losses

-fiber -fiber -fiber Channel

nonlinearity dispersion attenuation

-collection -receiver Receiver

losses sensitivity

Power
margin
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System architectures
Loss-limited communication systems

Rx: minimum average power= receiver sensitivity PRx

Tx: launching average power PTx

Max. transmission distance:

10  PTx 
L lg   (km)
 f  PRx 

f fiber loss (dB/km)

PRx  hvN p B B: bit rate

Dispersion-limited communication systems
Dispersion-limited communication systems
System budget

• Power budget
(make sure the systems NOT loss limited)

• Bandwidth budget (rise-time budget)

(make sure the systems NOT dispersion limited)
Power budget
Bandwidth or rise-time budget
 Direct Detection Rx

I  R E  RPsig
2

Pin
QOOK 
2  ASE
eq
Be
 ASE
eq
 Nnsp hv  G  1
10 Gb/s
Loss 0.2 dB/km
80km spacing
 Dispersion management
Dispersion compensation has to accommodate different needs
depending on system design.
Linear transmission systems:
• Zero residual dispersion at receiver
• Optimization of signal-to-noise ratio at receiver

Additionally in nonlinear transmission systems:

• Minimization of nonlinear effects

Optimization of the GVD profile along a transmission link

with respect to the impact of fiber nonlinearities is commonly
referred to as dispersion management.

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 8
Dispersion
7

eye - opening penalty [dB]

Pulse broadening in the 6
10 Gbit/s NRZ
over SMF
time-domain due to 5
D=16 ps/(km.nm)
dispersion leads to an 4

increased eye-closure. 3

2
Characterized by accumula- 1
ted dispersion Dacc [ps/nm]. 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160
Dacc  D  L length of single-mode fiber [km]

Dacc=0 ps/nm Dacc=1120 ps/nm Dacc=2240 ps/nm

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 Dispersion length
Consider a Gaussian shaped pulse with  1 t2 
A(0, t )  A0 exp  
2 
 2 T0 
Dispersion length is
defined as: 1

T02 |A(0,t)|2

normalized amplitude
LD 
2
0.8

0.6
Pulse-shape at z=LD? |A(LD,t)|2
0.4
Broadening factor 1/e
at z=LD: t=T1
0.2
t=T0
T1
 2
T0 0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

t / T0
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 Dispersion compensation
Dispersion is a linear effect. It can be compensated.
Commonly used: dispersion-compensating fiber (DCF)

SMF DCF
Positive dispersion parameter: Negative dispersion parameter:
ps ps
DSMF  17 DDCF  100
km  nm km  nm
LSMF LDCF Requirement for complete
compensation of 1st order
Dacc

GVD at a single wavelength:

LSMF DSMF  LDCF DDCF

L
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GVD and SPM impact

SPM GVD

L t 

  t 
Dispersion-compensating

 j 2  21 L1   22 L2  
AL,    A0,  exp 
 2 
 21  22
L1 L2

If  21 L1   22 L2  0 If D2 <0 and
D1
D1 L1  D2 L2  0 L2   L1
D2
Dispersion compensation
 21  22
L1 L2
D2
D1
z z

D2 D1

L1 L2
D1 DCF

D2
Where is the DCF located?
 Coherent Rx

I  RELO Esig  t 

P in Pin
QOOK  QPSK 
2 eq
ASE Be  ASE
eq
Be
Impact of Amplifier Spacing

60-125 km