DWDM impairments

Linear effects
Attenuation loss
Power

DWDM building bandwidth for the future

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Glossary Dispersion effects
Lt

Optical transport networks (OTN)

Abbreviation Description All optical network Avalanche photodiode Amplified spontaneous emission Chromatic dispersion Decibel Dispersion compensating fiber Dispersion compensating module Demultiplexer Distributed feedback Dispersion shifted fiber Dense wavelength division multiplexing Electrical-to-optical converter Erbium-doped fiber amplifier Extinction ratio Fabry-Perot Full width at half maximum Four wave mixing Gigabit per second Gigabit Ethernet Group velocity dispersion International electrotechnical commission Abbreviation IL ITU ITU-T LAN MUX mW nm NMS NZDSF OC O/E OADM OCC OFA OFE OQM ORL OSA OSC OSNR OTDR

Signal

Description Insertion loss International Telecommunication Union ITU Telecommunication Sector Local area network Multiplexer Milliwatt Nanometer Network management system Non-zero dispersion shifted fiber Optical carrier Optical-to-electrical converter Optical add/drop multiplexer Optical connection controller Optical fiber amplifier Optical front-end Optical Q-factor meter Optical return loss Optical spectrum analyzer Optical supervisory channel Optical signal-to-noise ratio Optical time domain reflectometer

Abbreviation OTN OXC PDL PMD PoS RFA SBS SDH SMF SOA SONET SPM SRS Tbps TDM TIA TP WAN WDM XPM

Description Optical transport networks Optical cross connect Polarization dependent loss Polarization mode dispersion Packet over SONET/SDH Raman fiber amplifier Stimulated Brillouin scattering Synchronous digital hierarchy Single-mode fiber Semiconductor optical amplifier Synchronous optical network Self phase modulation Stimulated Raman scattering Terabit per second Time division multiplexing Telecom Industry Association Transponder Wide area network Wavelength division multiplexing Cross phase modulation

OTN
Noise Distance 1. Optical window Attenuation in singlemode fibers dB/km 2. Optical window 10

To other network

OC-n STM-N Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) PMD the effect of the different polarization modes (horizontal and vertical) of a signal statistically traveling at different velocities due to fiber imperfections. Effects: decrease of peak power, distortion of pulse shape and bit errors Solutions: careful fiber laying (no stress), use of new fiber with low PMD values, exact fiber geometry l1 OC-n STM-N TDM MUX TP 10GigE l2 TP OC-192c STM-64c EDFA OADM NDSF DCF OXC Raman pump

43 Gbps 10.7 Gbps 2.7 Gbps

3. Optical window

To other network

0.1 850 1310 1550 l/nm

Attenuation and noise Attenuation loss of signal power caused by factors such as material absorption and impurities. Effects: decrease of peak power and bit errors

Noise unwanted power resulting from system components or natural disturbances. Solutions: use of shorter spans and purer fiber material
Positive chromatic dispersion X

GigE ATM VoIP PoS Metro SONET/SDH

l3

DWDM MUX

l1ln

l1ln

TP

TP

l1

ln

TP

TP

ln

AON APD ASE CD dB DCF DCM DEMUX DFB DSF DWDM E/O EDFA ER FB FWHM FWM Gbps GigE GVD IEC

Power conversion

DWDM DEMUX

Optical power conversions dBm = 10 log10 {P/1mW} Power (W) 31.6 W 3.16 W 1W 316 mW 100 mW 32 mW 10 mW 5 mW 1 mW 500 mW 100 mW 50 mW 10 mW 5 mW 1 mW 100 nW 10 nW 1 nW 100 pW 10 pW 1 pW Power (dBm) +40 dBm +35 dBm +30 dBm +25 dBm +20 dBm +15 dBm +10 dBm +7 dBm 0 dBm 3 dBm 10 dBm 13 dBm 20 dBm 23 dBm 30 dBm 40 dBm 50 dBm 60 dBm 70 dBm 80 dBm 90 dBm

Optical eye pattern

Chromatic dispersion (CD) CD the phenomenon of the different wavelengths of an optical pulse traveling at different velocities along a fiber and arriving at different times in the receiver. Effects: decrease of peak power, pulse broadening and bit errors Solutions: use of fibers or modules with reverse CD values (DCF/DCM)

Fiber classification facts

20 CD coefficient in ps/(nm6km) G652 standard fiber 10 G655 non zero disp. shifted fiber G653 dispersion shifted fiber

Bandwidth conversions
T Bandwidth conversions du = {c/l2} Dl GHz to nanometers at 1550 nm 100 GHz & 0.8 nm 50 GHz & 0.4 nm 25 GHz & 0.2 nm

Non-linear effects
Parametric effects
Cross phase modulations (XPM) The effect a signal in one channel has on another signal's phase is called XPM. It is caused by the Kerr effect but arises only from the transmission of multiple channels on the same fiber. Effects: spectral broadening, initial pulse compression (in positive CD regime), accelerated pulse broadening (in negative CD regime), channel crosstalk due to walk-off effect and bit errors Solutions: use of fibers with CD
Power

Scattering effects
Power

Dispersion compensation modules (DCM) DCMs remove CD effects accumulated during transmission by using an element to create reverse behaviour of the velocity per wavelength. CD can be compensated by using: Fiber Bragg grating Dispersion compensating fibers (DCF) DCFs DCMs are often integrated into optical fiber amplifiers (OFA) and can sometimes be adjusted to react to temperature dependent changes of the CD value.

2.5 Gbps 10 Gbps 44 Gbps

T = 402 ps T = 100.5 ps T = 25.5 ps

10

References Optical bands

Nominal central frequencies (THz) for spacings of 100 GHz and above 0.6 0.5 Blue-band, C-band, Red-band Attenuation (dB/km) 0.4 E-band (Extended) 0.3 0.2 0.1 1200 U-band (Ultralong wavelength) G.662 G.663 G.664 G.692

Frequencies

20
Channels Channels

Nominal central wavelengths (nm)

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) This effect transfers power from a signal at a shorter wavelength to one at a higher wavelength. Signal light waves interact with optical photons in the silica fiber and are scattered in all directions. Effects: decrease of peak power and OSNR, optical crosstalk especially in bi-directional DWDM systems, bit errrors Solutions: careful power level design

S-band (Short wavelength)

L-band (Long wavelength)

Blue shift

Red shift

Self phase modulation (SPM) With high signal intensities, light induces variable local changes in the fiber's refractive index known as the Kerr effect that produces a varying phase in the same channel. Effects: spectral broadening, initial pulse compression (in positive CD regime), accelerated pulse broadening (in negative CD regime) and channel crosstalk due to walk-off effect Solutions: use of fibers with CD

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) This backscattering process causes loss of power. Signal light waves induce periodic changes in the fiber's refractive index at high power. Effects: decrease of peak power and OSNR, optical crosstalk especially in bi-directional DWDM systems, bit errors Solutions: spectral broadening of the light source

G.655 non-zero dispersion shifted fiber (NZDSF) reduces non-linear effects caused by multiple wavelength transmission and high-power laser by leaving a small amount of CD in the fiber.

O-band (Original)

G.652 or standard fibers containing zero dispersion at 1310 nm were the first single-mode fibers to be used in long-haul communications. They show slightly more attenuation in the 1310 nm than in 1550 nm window and have the highest CD in comparison to other fibers.

G.653 dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) for transmission in the region of lowest attenuation with zero CD. Intended initially for standard use with new installations, multiple channels and high transmission rates have led to non-linear effects being exhibited in these fibers.

1300

1400 1500 Wavelength (nm)

1600

1700

G.709 G.957

Optical fiber amplification

Further limitations
f3
Original channels Crosstalk

G.959.1

Basic configuration of the EDFA Optical isolator

14 12 Output Gain (dB) 10 8 6 4 2 0 1500 1520

Gain profiles EDFA gain

IEC 61290 61291-1

f1

f2

http://www.iec.ch Basic specifications for optical test methods Optical fiber amplifiers

TP Interference products l1ln DWDM DEMUX

l1

Input Er-doped fiber

Crosstalk

WDM coupler

Raman gain

f213

f132

f231

DWDM signal

TP

l2

Pump LD Erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) EDFAs are the most common OFAs used. This piece of optical fiber is doped with erbium ions (Er3+). Radiation from a pump laser outside the wavelength range is introduced into the fiber resulting in amplification of the data signal.

f/GHz

Four wave mixing (FWM) This interference phenomenon produces unwanted signals from three frequencies (fxyz = fx + fy fz) known as ghost channels. As three channels automatically induce a fourth, the term four wave mixing is used. FWM is problematic in systems using DSF fibers. Wavelengths traveling at the same speed at a constant phase over long time periods increase the effect of FWM. Effects: power transfer to new signal frequencies (harmonics), channel crosstalk and bit errors Solutions: use of fiber with CD, irregular channel spacing

TP

l3

Telcordia http://www.telcordia.com GR-1221 Generic reliability assurance requirements for passive optical components GR-2854 Generic requirements for optical isolators and circulators GR-2882 Generic requirements for fiber-optic dispersion compensators GR-2918 DWDM systems with digital tributaries for use in metropolitan areas

Crosstalk Crosstalk occurs in devices that filter and separate wavelengths. A proportion of optical power intended for a specific channel is found in an adjacent or different channel. Effects: generation of additional noise affecting optical signal to noise ratios (OSNR), leading to bit errors Solutions: use appropriate optical channel spacing, for example 0.4 nm ? 10 Gbps

1540 1560 1580 Wavelength (nm)

1600

1620

TIA TIA/EIA-526-4A TIA/EIA-526-6

Raman amplification This optical amplification process takes place throughout the transmission fibers in optical networks. It is initiated by pump lasers and wavelength scattering from fiber atoms that alter the wavelength to that of the optical signal. The optical fiber is commonly pumped backwards with a 600 mW laser which is most efficient with a wavelength difference of 100 nm/13.2 THz to the signal.

TIA/EIA-526-12

http://www.tiaonline.com Optical eye pattern measurement procedure Optical signal-to-noise ratio measurement procedure for dense wavelength division multiplexed systems Q-factor measurement procedure for optical transmission systems

196.10 196.05 196.00 195.95 195.90 195.85 195.80 195.75 195.70 195.65 195.60 195.55 195.50 195.45 195.40 195.35 195.30 195.25 195.20 195.15 195.10 195.05 195.00 194.95 194.90 194.85 194.80 194.75 194.70 194.65 194.60 194.55 194.50 194.45 194.40 194.35 194.30 194.25 194.20 194.15 194.10

196.10 196.00 195.90 195.80 195.70 195.60 195.50 195.40 195.30 195.20 195.10 195.00 194.90 194.80 194.70 194.60 194.50 194.40 194.30 194.20 194.10

1528.77 1529.16 1529.55 1529.94 1530.33 1530.72 1531.12 1531.51 1531.90 1532.29 1532.68 1533.07 1533.47 1533.86 1534.25 1534.64 1535.04 1535.43 1535.82 1536.22 1536.61 1537.00 1537.40 1537.79 1538.19 1538.58 1538.98 1539.37 1539.77 1540.16 1540.56 1540.95 1541.35 1541.75 1542.14 1542.54 1542.94 1543.33 1543.73 1544.13 1544.53

194.05 194.00 193.95 193.90 193.85 193.80 193.75 193.70 193.65 193.60 193.55 193.50 193.45 193.40 193.35 193.30 193.25 193.20 193.15 193.10 193.05 193.00 192.95 192.90 192.85 192.80 192.75 192.70 192.65 192.60 192.55 192.50 192.45 192.40 192.35 192.30 192.25 192.20 192.15 192.10

194.00 193.90 193.80 193.70 193.60 193.50 193.40 193.30 193.20 193.10 193.00 192.90 192.80 192.80 192.60 192.50 192.40 192.30 192.20 192.10

1544.92 1545.32 1545.72 1546.12 1546.52 1546.92 1547.32 1547.72 1548.11 1548.51 1548.91 1549.32 1549.72 1550.12 1550.52 1550.92 1551.32 1551.72 1552.12 1552.52 1552.93 1553.33 1553.73 1554.13 1554.54 1554.94 1555.34 1555.75 1556.15 1556.55 1556.96 1557.36 1557.77 1558.17 1558.58 1558.98 1559.39 1559.79 1560.20 1560.61

f112

f223

f221

f321

f332

f331

f123

f113

f312

Note: Specifications, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Copyright 2003 Acterna, LLC. All rights reserved. Acterna, The Keepers of Communications, and its logo are trademarks of Acterna, LLC. DWDM/PO/OPT/01-03/AE

S+-band

Nominal central wavelengths (nm)

Nominal central frequencies (THz) for spacings of 50 GHz

Nominal central frequencies (THz) for spacings of 50 GHz

1200

1300

1400 l/nm

1500

1600

Nominal central frequencies (THz) for spacings of 100 GHz and above

ITU-T G.661

http://www.itu.int Definitions and test methods for the relevant generic parameters of optical amplifier devices and subsystems Generic characteristics of optical amplifier devices and subsystems Application related aspects of optical amplifier devices and subsystems (describes nonlinear effects) Optical safety procedure and requirements for optical transport systems Optical interfaces for multichannel systems with optical amplifiers (DWDM systems, channel spacing grids and reference test points) Interfaces for the optical transport network (OTN) (2.7 Gbps, 10.7 Gbps, 43 Gbps, FEC and digital wrapper) Optical interfaces for equipment and systems relating to the synchronous digital hierarchy Optical transport networks with physical layer interfaces

14 40 14 60

15 30 15 65

12 6

13 6

5 16 2

16 7