Abstract

The optical carriers in heterodyne systems can be regrouped and rerouted easily in response to traffic demands on a specific route, and the heterodyne receivers can be easily upgraded, in response to users’ demand, to a full-duplex or a multiple-way terminal for use in a multiple-access business system that simultaneously uses a flexible optical-carrier allocation scheme to avoid congestion. This tutorial summarizes the principles of heterodyne systems and describes the potential applications of coherent techniques in the system areas just mentioned.

© 1993 Optical Society of America