High capacity, ultra-long haul transmission

摘要

The advent of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology has transformed not only the technology but also the economics of optical network deployments. The number of channels of such systems has grown explosively from eight in the first systems carrying DWDM OC-48 channels to more than 100 in some recently announced systems. While the capacity of such systems has grown enormously, the cost of terminals and regenerators has become a much larger fraction of a system's overall cost. Minimizing the number and the cost of regenerators in now a major driver in the design of new equipment and of the sepcification of carriers' fiber networks. These economic factors are driving three major trends: (1) the need to increase channel bit rates from OC-48 to OC-192 to minimize the number of regenerators, transmitters and receivers, (2) the demand for and development of terrestrial DWDM systems with much longer reach between regenerators and (3) the installation of non-zero dispersion shifted fiber (NZDSF) in new fiber networks, and the replacement of existing fiber plants with NZDSF to suport long haul transmission of DWDM high speed channels.