Understanding Optical Fiber Communications

Abstract

What Are Telecommunications? The Basic Principles - The Global Village Elements of Telecommunications Measurement of Information Signals Bandwidth Analogue and Digital Systems The Transmitter: Putting Signals on to Carriers Limits to Bandwidth: Signal Attenuation and Distortion The Receiver Why Do We Need Optics? - The Quest for Bandwidth Electromagnetic Waves Transmission with Electromagnetic Waves What Are Optical Fibers?: Guided Light - What is an Optical Fiber? Interaction of Light with Itself-Wave Interference Interaction of Light with Glass-Loss and Dispersion System Implications Fiber Manufacture and Cabling Preparing the Light - Sources of Modulation Light Emission Processes Laser Action The Semiconductor Laser Impressing Information on the Light-Optical Modulation Seeing the Light - Photodetection and Demodulation A Semiconductor Photodetector-the Photodiode The Avalanche Photodiode Noise PINS or APDs? Detection Demodulation System Design - Introduction Decibels A Simple Analogue System A Long-Distance High-Bandwidth Digital System Trunk Systems Networks More Advanced Topics - Splitters Couplers and Switches Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (WDM) Dispersion Compensation Polarization-Mode Dispersion (PMD) Non-Linear Optics and Solitons A Look at the Future - What Does the Future Hold in Store Appendices - The Sampling Theorem Theory of the Laser Shannon's Theorem Non-Linear Optics.