Abstract
Wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) techniques have been studied intensively and have been considered as an attractive technology option for utilizing the vast bandwidth offered by optical fibers in interoffice networks.1 In an interoffice WDM ring network, every optical channel uses a dedicated laser source. The optical signal passes through a number of concatenated components, such as WDM multiplexers (MUX), demultiplexers (DEMUX), EDFAs, and noise-limiting optical bandpass filters, all of which can serve as optical filters. The concatenation of optical filters makes the system susceptible to filter passband misalignments arising from device imperfections, temperature variations, and aging. The emission spectrum of the laser source may also be misaligned with the effective center frequency of the optical filters owing to manufacturing tolerances, aging, or operating conditions. Direct current modulation of a single-longitudinal-mode laser source introduces chirp, resulting in broadening of the modulation bandwidth of the optical spectrum. Performance degradations in WDM systems may arise from the combined effects of optical-filter misalignments, laser misalignments, and laser chirp.
© 1995 Optical Society of America
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