SC314 Hands-on Fiber Characterization for the Engineering of Long Haul and Metro Deployments

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Danny Peterson¹, Christine Tremblay²; ¹Verizon Business, USA, ² École de Technologie Supérieure, Univ. du Québec, Canada
Level: Advanced Beginner (basic understanding of topic is necessary to follow course material)

Course Description

In this hands-on course you will measure all of the necessary fiber parameters for qualifying fibers for a specified bit rate. The course begins with a review of the basics of loss measurements, reflectance, chromatic dispersion and polarization mode dispersion. Bit-rate dependent limits will be calculated for each parameter for fiber qualification purposes. Descriptions of the course equipment and setups will follow. The participants then divide into small groups and rotate among four lab stations. In Lab 1, participants will measure fiber loss and optical return loss. Equipment for this lab includes a power meter and an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR). In Lab 2, participants will measure the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) of transmission paths with combinations of high-PMD fibers. The measurement methods used in this lab include Interferometry and Jones Matrix Eigenanalysis (JME). Pros and cons of each method will be compared and discussed. Christine Tremblay is the instructor. In Lab 3, participants will measure the chromatic dispersion using two different measurement techniques. The first is the time-of-flight method and the second is the phase-shift method. Results will be compared between both methods. Pros and cons of each will be discussed. Daniel Peterson is the instructor. The course will conclude with a discussion of data results.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

This course should enable you to:

  • Learn about transmission limits as a function of bit rate and application.
  • Gain the knowledge to make decisions on when specific fiber testing is necessary dependent on the application.
  • Measure polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) using Interferometric and JME methods.
  • Measure chromatic dispersion (CD) using both time-of-flight (TOF) and phase-shift methods, and discuss CD compensation in mixed-fiber type mesh environments.
  • Discuss the effect of PMD and chromatic dispersion on high-speed digital signals.
  • Discuss the outage probability in optical fiber transmission systems due to PMD-induced degradation.
  • Take optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) for loss and splice characterization.
  • Describe the system-level effects of polarization-related impairments on long-haul optical transmission.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for engineers, technicians and managers involved with optical fiber, components or systems, including those that operate at or above 10Gb/s.

Biography

Daniel Peterson is a distinguished engineer in global transport engineering at Verizon Business. He is an internal advisor on new system technologies for optical transport and is responsible for specifying new optical fiber and characterization of older fiber for new technology. Peterson is also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he mentors graduate students. He received a B.S.E.E. and an M.S. in physics from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and he earned an M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a senior member of the IEEE. Christine Tremblay is a professor at the École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec. She has established courses on optical communications and networking, and her current research focuses on the exploration of novel optical network architectures and monitoring techniques for passive optical networks, and on the development of a high-speed WDM physical layer test bed for evaluating advanced transmission technologies. Prior joining ÉTS, she held senior R&D and technology management positions for several organizations including EXFO, Nortel Networks and the National Optics Institute. She received her doctorate from École Polytechnique de Montréal and is a member of OSA and IEEE/LEOS.