Ricerca e Terza missione Dottorato di ricerca in Ingegneria dell'InformazioneDidattica Transport and access optical networks

Transport and access optical networks

Abstract and Program of the Course 

Abstract:

Optical fibers are a fundamental element of telecommunication networks. Their introduction in long-haul links has revolutionized the high capacity transport network, which connects cities and continents, and has been the primary engine for the birth and growth of Internet.

More recently the decrease of the costs of optical devices and the steadily increasing bandwidth demand of telecommunication services is fostering the diffusion of optical fibers into the access networks.

In the first part of the course the main properties of optical fibers will be reviewed and some optical components, that are used in the networks, will be also presented. In the second part, it will be described how fiber properties and optical devices performance eventually determine the design of fiber optics transport and access networks.

 

Program:

1. Introduction: the evolution of transport and access optical networks

2. Light propagation in an optical fiber

     a. The propagation modes

     b. Intra- and inter-modal dispersion

     c. Intrinsic and extrinsic losses

     d. The effects due to the light polarization and to medium non-linearity (brief overview)

     e. Optical network devices (brief overview)

3.   Trasport optical networks

     a. Time and wavelength division multiplexed systems

     b. Coherent systems

     c. Future directions: space division multiplexing (brief overview)

4.   Access optical networks

     a. Passive vs.active optical networks

     b. Radio-over-fiber techniques (brief overview)