MULTIMODE SYSTEM SIMULATION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SPREADSHEET ANALYSIS FOR THE STUDY OF Gb/s OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

摘要

During the development of the Gigabit Ethernet optical communication standards, extensive use was made of static calculations based on a spreadsheet analysis []]. To accomplish the analysis of Gb/s optical systems within the context of a spreadsheet, the performance calculations were greatly simplified [2]. Broad approximations and assumptions were often made which are rarely realized in practice. Despite its shortcomings, the spreadsheet model continues to be used because there has been no compelling alternative. In this paper, we examine the use of system simulation as an alternative to the spreadsheet approach. Our method is based on well-accepted system simulation techniques [3] augmented by detailed models for multimode optical components [4].