Dublin Institute of Technology

Dr. Gerald Farrell

Optical Communications Systems
School of Electronic and
Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited
Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Course Introduction
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Course Introduction
Historical perspective
Wavelength and spectra
Advantages and disadvantages of fibre
Modulation
Fibre systems
Overview
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Historical Perspective
Light has been used for line of sight communications
for thousands of years
Real advances began in the 19th century with several
improved line of sight communications schemes
Guided transmission of light over fibre became a
reality in the early 1970's
Other advances, such as the invention of the LASER
have been of vital importance
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Line of Sight Optical
Communication
1791: The Chappe optical telegraph
Claude Chappe demonstrated a signalling
system based on a pair of movable wooden
arms on a tower.
1855: The Leseurre mirror heliograph
Built by Jules Leseurre to communicate in
southern Algeria. The system involved a shutter
and two mirrors, one to collect the sun's rays
and the other to direct the beam.
1880: The Bell photophone
Voice modulated light beam used for
communication, to an "electrical" receiver
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Bell Photophone
Transmitter Receiver
Mouthpiece
Light
Source
Moving and fixed
plates with slits
Earpiece
Batteries
Mirror with
Selenium at focus
Beam
Journal Telegraphique, October 1880
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Guided Transmission of Light
John Tyndall
1854: The Tyndall experiment
John Tyndall, an Irishman, demonstrates that
sunlight can be guided by a curved flow of water
1880: Wheeler's lighting apparatus
Wheeler, a plumber, believed that he could light
an entire house using a centralised lighting
source, through mirrored pipes. The idea failed
1966: Proposal of low-loss glass waveguides
Charles Kao proposed fibre as an alternative
to existing methods using lenses at 10-100 m
1972: First sub-20 dB/Km glass fibre fabricated
Corning glass, USA.
1976: First commercial optical fibre system
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Wavelength and Spectra
Wavelength:
Light can be characterised in terms of its wavelength
Analogous to the frequency of a radio signal
The wavelength of light is expressed in microns or nanometers
The visible light spectrum ranges from ultraviolet to infra-red
Optical fibre systems operate in three IR windows around 800 nm,
1310 nm and 1550 nm
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
Spectrum of light (wavelength in nanometers)
Fibre operating windows
Visible light
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Advantages of Fibre
Low attenuation, large bandwidth allowing long distance (>100 km) at
high bit rates ( > 1Gb/s)
Small physical size
Low physical mass, low material cost
Cables can be made non-conducting, thus eliminating electromagnetic
interference, shock hazards and providing electrical isolation
Negligible crosstalk between fibre channels in the same cable
High security, since tapping is very difficult
Upgrade potential to higher bit rates is excellent
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Disadvantages of Fibre
Jointing fibre can be more difficult and expensive
Fibre is not as mechanically robust as copper wire
Limited source power for systems, limiting operating distance
Not suited to ternary transmission, i.e. light cannot have negative values
so coding schemes using positive and negative levels cannot be used
Fibres are not directly suited to multi-access use, limiting their use in
local area networks for example
Susceptible to ionizing radiation
Receivers suffer from relatively high noise levels, limiting sensitivity
Source: Master 1_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Typical Optical Comms Link
Transmitter
Terminal
Receiver
Terminal
Optical Fibre Connector Optical Fibre Splice Optical Fibre
Legend
Transmitter contains an optical source to convert electrical signals to light
Fibre is installed in lengths, joined by connectors and splices
Splices are permanent while connectors are demountable, useful for testing
and rerouting
Receiver contains an optical detector to convert light back to electricity
Combination of a transmitter and receiver is called a transceiver
Source: Master 1_2
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Optical Information Signals
Unlike an electrical transmission system light
cannot have a negative value
Traditional format involves light on / off to
represent 1 / 0, so called intensity modulation
Newer techniques use more sophisticated formats,
so called coherent modulation
How do we represent information using light?
Source: Master 1_2
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Modulation
Most common form of modulation is intensity modulation
Can be carried out electrically or optically
Well developed LASER and LED integrated drivers
Analog or Digital modulation possible
Relatively simple receiver design (called direct detection)
Electrical
Data
Modulated
Optical
Signal
Intensity
modulation
Source: Master 1_2
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Coherent Modulation
Electrical
Data
FSK Optical
Signal
Bandpass modulation systems, such as ASK, FSK, PSK
Electrical or Optical modulation, depending on type
More complex receivers
Better receiver sensitivity (less optical power needed)
Channel selection possible at receiver
f1 f2 f1
Source: Master 1_2
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Optical Fibre Networks
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Types of Communications
Network
A variety of generic communications Networks have
evolved, some of which are:
Trunk Network
Metropolitan Network
Distribution and Access Networks
Local Area Networks
Source: Master 0_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Trunk Network
City A
City B
City C
City D
Trunk network links major population centres together
Substantial distances involved (100's of km)
Transmission links (trunks) are almost exclusively fibre
Very high capacity, at least several Gbit/s
Resilient to damage
Trunk link
Source: Master 0_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Metropolitan Networks
Metro network is confined to a single major population/industry centres
City (10's km) distances involved
Transmission links are almost exclusively fibre
High capacity, up to several Gbit/s
Resilient to damage
Trunk link to
other Metro
networks
Nodes
Source: Master 0_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Distribution and Access
Networks
Distribution and Access networks
deliver services to the customer
Depending on the customer links
are fibre or copper (residential)
Relatively short distances
Medium capacity (up to 1 Gbit/s)
Resilience not present
Local Node
or Exchange
Communications
Cabinet
Customers
Source: Master 0_1
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Local Area Networks
Campus Backbone
Building Backbone
Horizontal Cabling
Short range network
Normally privately
owned
Utilises a mix of fibre
copper and possibly
wireless technology
Bit rates are Mbits/s
to low Gbits/s
Source: Master 1_0
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Application Areas
The most common current applications are:
Public network trunk telecommunications links
Local area and Metropolitan area networks
Short range data transmission
Video transmission
The most promising emerging applications are:
Fibre to the home (FTTH)
Very high speed LANs (10 Gb/s +)
Unrepeatered ultra-long trunk undersea links
Optical interconnects
Source: Master 1_2
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Public
(Telecommunications)
Networks
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Optical Fibre Transmission in
the Public Network
Fibre is now very widely used in the trunk network
All systems use singlemode fibre
Operating wavelengths are circa 1550 nm
Bit rates per fibre are routinely 10 Gbits/sec or higher
Multiplexing at an optical level now common
So called Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing or DWDM
Can increase fibre capacity 100 fold or more
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Trends in Public Network
Development
Rapid growth in network size:
The range of traffic types is expanding
Service bit rates are increasing
Other requirements have also emerged
Longer spans without regeneration
Improved survivability in the network
Expandability
Improved control and monitoring
The extension of broadband services to the home
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Source: Master 9_2
Worldwide Growth in Telephone
and IP Traffic
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
0
5
10
15
20
25
(Source: Analysys)
Predicted World Telephone and IP Traffic Growth
IP Traffic
Telephone Traffic
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s

o
f

T
e
r
r
a
b
y
t
e
s
Year
Historically traffic
demand doubled about
every 30-40 months
Fuelled by the Internet
data and IP traffic is
growing at an
extraordinary rate
In the U.S. data traffic
has already overtaken
voice on trunk links
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Consequence: Lower Costs
Cost of Transferring 1 Terrabyte of data across the
network fell from 70,000 Euro in 1998 to a predicted
300 Euro by 2003
Source: Master 9_2
1 Terrabyte represents the content of about 1500
CD-ROMS
In 1998 it cost about 60 Euro to transfer one CD-ROMs
worth of information over the network
In 2003 it will cost about 18 Cent..........
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Standard Public Network Bit
Rates
Designation Bit rate Voice Channels
OC-1 51.84 Mb/s 672
OC-3 or STM-1 155.52 Mb/s 2016
OC-9 466.56 Mb/s 6048
OC-12 or STM-4 622.28 Mb/s 8064
OC-18 933.12 Mb/s 12,096
OC-24 1.244 Gb/s 16,128
OC-36 1.866 Gb/s 24,192
OC-48 or STM-16 2.488 Gb/s 32,256
OC-96 4.976 Gb/s 64,512
OC-192 or STM-64 9.953 Gb/s 129,024
Bit rates have been standardised for:
Sonet: Synchronous optical network (US)
SDH: Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
OC-x bit rates are a US designation, STM-x bit rates are international
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Local Area Networks
Source: Master 1_3
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Fibre in Local Area Networks
Second only to public network use in popularity
Fibre is a broadband LAN medium, allowing longer distances and
higher bit rates
Fibre restricts the choice of LAN topology because equivalent
optical component loss is higher
One of the most successful fibre based LANs is the so called
Fibre Distributed Data Interface or FDDI.
Future fibre LANs will operate at 1 Gbit/s and higher
Source: Master 1_4
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Applications for Fibre in
Buildings
Campus Backbone
Building Backbone
Horizontal Cabling
Most fibre is used in
campus and building
backbones
Horizontal cabling is
mainly copper at
present but may
become fibre
Source: Master 1_4
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz
Optical Communications Systems, Dr. Gerald Farrell, School of Electronic and Communications Engineering
Unauthorised usage or reproduction strictly prohibited, Copyright 2002, Dr. Gerald Farrell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Network Topology Problems
In a copper based network such as a bus network simple BNC T pieces can be used
Allows for a relatively large number of nodes or computers
The closest equivalent for optical fibre is an "optical splitter"
But loss of optical power in the splitter can reduce the number of nodes to < 10
Networks based on optical fibre must use different topologies
Source: Master 1_4
01/10/02 1.1 Introduction to Optical Comms.prz