New Short Course SC327 Modeling and Design of Fiber-Optic Communication Systems

Sunday, March 22, 2009
9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Rene-Jean Essiambre; Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent, USA
Level: Advanced Beginner (basic understanding of topic is necessary to follow course material)

Course Description

The broad objective of this course is to provide a working knowledge of the numerous techniques and tools used to design the transport layer of advanced fiber-optic communication systems, from metropolitan to ultra-long haul systems. The primary focus is on providing a comprehensive overview of how to model propagation over optical fibers, with emphasis on the various fiber nonlinear effects involving signal and noise, for both singly-polarized and polarization-division-multiplexed signals. This includes a description of the techniques suitable for modeling nonlinear propagation of various advanced modulation formats in optically routed networks. The course also provides a comparative description of various optical amplification technologies, such as erbium-doped and Raman amplification, for different types of transmission lines. A description of the tools used to characterize system performance is covered in this course, including evaluations of optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) penalties and Q-factors. In addition, the course presents an introduction to the issues faced when configuring the physical layer of optical networks, including ring and mesh network topologies. Finally, the course concludes with an overview of the ultimate capacity of the “fiber channel” that helps participants understand technological limits associated with increasing the capacity of fiber-optic communication systems.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

This course should enable you to:

  • Develop a functional understanding of the basic building blocks of fiber-optic communication systems.
  • Learn the basic elements of optical transmission modeling.
  • Develop a detailed understanding of how to model nonlinear transmission over fibers, especially how to navigate through the numerous pitfalls of nonlinear transmission modeling.
  • Choose a suitable technique for modeling specific systems, such as systems using advanced modulation formats.
  • Compare the performance of various amplification technologies.
  • Understand the basic technical issues faced when configuring optical networks with complex topologies.
  • Estimate the ultimate limit to fiber capacity.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for engineers and scientists working on fiber-optic transmission as well as those working on components and subsystems interested in developing an expertise at the transmission level. The course also addresses academic researchers and graduate students with basic knowledge on optical or digital communication interested in developing a detailed knowledge of fiber-optic transmission modeling and in understanding system implications of advanced technologies.

Biography

René-Jean Essiambre is a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent. He received his doctorate from Université Laval and studied at the University of Rochester before joining Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent) in 1997. Essiambre is contributing to the design of advanced optical transmission systems, especially in relation to the management of fiber nonlinearities. His interests include modulation formats, detection and optimization techniques for the design of optically routed networks to increase capacity, optical transparency and functionality of wavelength-division multiplexed communication systems. He is a recipient of the 2005 Engineering Excellence Award from OSA, where he is a Fellow.