OFC Systems

Module 4. WDM COMPONENTS

By
Dr. Venkateswara Rao Kolli
Associate Professor
ECE,MCE.
 1.Variable Optical Attenuators
• Precise active signal-level control is essential for proper operation of DWDM
networks.
• For example all wavelength channels exiting an optical amplifier need to have the
same gain level.
• Certain channels may need to be blanked out to perform network monitoring,
span balancing may be needed to ensure that an signal strengths at a user location
are the same.
• Signal attenuation may be needed at the receiver to prevent photo-detector
saturation.
• A variable optical attenuator (VOA) offers such dynamic signal-level control.
• This device attenuates optical power by various means to control signal levels
precisely without disturbing other properties of a light signal.
• That means they should be polarization independent, attenuate light independent
of the wavelength, and have a low insertion loss.
• In addition, they should have a dynamic range of 15 to 30 dB (a control factor
ranging from 30 to 1000).
 Variable Optical Attenuators(contd…)
• The control methods include mechanical, thermo-optic, MEMS, or electro-optic
techniques.
• Mechanical control methods are reliable but have a low dynamic range and a slow
response time.
• Thermo-optic methods have a high dynamic range, but are slow and require the use of a
thermoelectric cooler (TEC), which may not be desirable.
• The two most popular control methods are MEMS-based and electrooptic-based
techniques.
• For MEMS techniques an electrostatic actuation method is the most common and well-
developed.
• Since integrated-circuit processes offer a wide selection of conductive and insulating
materials.
• In this method a voltage change across a pair of electrodes provides an electrostatic
actuation force.
• This requires lower power levels than other methods and is the fastest.
• When wavelengths are added, dropped or routed in a WDM system, a VOA can manage
the optical power fluctuations of this and other simultaneously propagating wavelength
signals.
 Variable Optical Attenuators(contd…)

• Table l0.9 shows some representative operational parameter values for

a VOA.
2. Tunable Optical Filter

Fig. 7.6.1 illustrates

concept of tunable filter.

The system parameters for tunable optical filters are –

1) Tuning rage (Δv)
2) Channel spacing (δv)
3) Maximum number of channels(N)
4) Tuning speed.
Tunable Optical Filter(contd..)
 Tunable Filters
• Tunable filters are made by at least one branch of
an interferometric filter has its
– Propagation length or
– Refractive index altered by a control mechanism
• When these parameters change, phase of the
propagating light wave changes (as a function of
wavelength)
• Hence, intensity of the added signal changes (as a
function of wavelength)
• As a result, wavelength selectivity is achieved
Tuneable Filter Considerations
Tuneable Filter Considerations (contd….0
 Tunable Optical Filters (contd….)
• Tunable optical filters are key components for dense WDM optical networks.
• Two key technologies to make a tunable filter are MEMS-based and Bragg-
grating-based devices.
• MEMS actuated filters have the advantageous characteristics of a wide
tuning range and design flexibility.
• One such filter is a tunable variation on the classical structure that has been
used widely for interferometer applications.
• The MEMS based device consists of two sets of epitaxially grown
semiconductor layers that form a single Fabry- Perot cavity.
• The device operation is based on allowing one of the two mirrors to be
moved precisely by an actuator.
• This enables a change in the distance between the two cavity mirrors,
thereby resulting in the selection of different wavelengths to be filtered.
Tunable Optical Filters(contd..)
Tunable optical filters based on fiber Bragg gratings involve a stretching and
relaxation process of the spacing in the fiber grating that is in the periodic
variation in the refractive index along the core.
Since glass is a slightly stretchable medium, as an optical fiber is stretched
with the grating inside of it, the spacing of the index perturbations and
refractive index will change.
This process induces a change in the Bragg wavelength thereby changing the
center wavelength of the filter.
Before it is stretched, the center wavelength λ, of a fiber Bragg grating filter
is given by
λ = 2neff Ʌ
where neff is the effective index of the fiber containing the grating and Ʌ
(lambda) is the period of the index variation of the grating.
When elongating the fiber grating by a distance ɅΔ, the corresponding
change in the center wavelength is
Δ λ = 2neff Δ Ʌ .
Such optical filters can be made for the S-. C-. and L-bands and for operation
in the 1310-nm region.
 Tunable optical filters(contd…)

Figure:10.35 Three
methods for adjusting
of wavelength of
tunable bragg grating

The stretching can be done by thernmo-mechanical, piezoelectric or stepper-motor

means, as shown in Fig. 10.35.
 Tunable optical filters(contd…)

The thermo-mechanical methods might use a bimetal differential-

expansion element which changes its shape as its temperature
varies.
In the figure the high-expansion bar changes its length more with
temperature than the low-expansion frame, thereby leading to
temperature-induced length variations in the fiber grating.
This method is in expensive but it is slow, takes time to stabilize, and
has a limited tuning range.
Tunable optical filters(contd…)

The piezoelectric technique uses a material that changes its

length when a voltage is applied.

Although this method provides precise wavelength

resolution, it is more expensive, complex to implement, and
has a limited tuning range.
Tunable optical filters(contd…)

The stepper-motor method changes the length of the fiber

operating by pulling or relaxing one end of the structure.
It has a moderate cost, is reliable, and has a reasonable tuning
speed.
Applications of these devices include gain-tilt monitoring in
optical fiber amplifiers, optical performance monitoring in
central offices, channel selection at the receive side of a WDM
link, and suppression of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE)
noise in optical amplifiers
 Tunable optical filters(contd…)

• Table 10.10 lists representative performance parameters of a tunable optical filter.

 3.Dynamic Gain Equalizers
• A dynamic gain equalizer (DGE) is used to reduce the attenuation of the individual
wavelengths within a spectral band.
• These devices also are called dynamic channel equalizers (DCE) or dynamic
spectral equalizers.
• The function of a DGE is equivalent to filtering out individual wavelengths and
equalizing them on a channel-by-channel basis.
• Their applications include flattening the nonlinear gain profile of an optical
amplifier, compensation for variation in transimission losses on individual channels
across a given spectral band within a link, and attenuating, adding, or dropping
selective wavelengths.
• For example, the gain profile across a spectral band containing many wavelengths
usually changes and needs to be equalized when one of the wavelengths is
suddenly added or dropped on a WDM link.
• Component vendors sometimes distinguish between a DGE for flattening the
output of an optical amplifier and a DCE which is used for channel equalization or
add/drop functions.
• Depending on the application, certain operational parameters such as the channel
attenuation range may be different.
 Dynamic Gain Equalizers(contd…)

• Fig. 10.36 shows how a DGE equalizes the gain profile of an erbium-doped fiber
amplifier.
• The operation of these devices can be controlled electronically and configured by
software residing in a microprocessor.
• This control is based on feedback information received from a performance-
monitoring card that provides the parameter values needed to adjust and adapt to
required link specifications.
• This allows a high degree of agility in responding to optical power fluctuations that
may result from changing network conditions
 4.Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers

• The function of an optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) is to insert (add) or

extract (drop) one or more selected wavelengths at a designated point in an optical
network.
• Figure 10.37 shows a simple OADM configuration that has four input and four
output ports.
 Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers(contd…)
• In this case, the add-and-drop functions are controlled by MEMS-based
miniature mirrors that are activated selectively to connect the desired
fiber paths.
• When no mirrors are activated, each incoming channel passes through the
switch to the output port.
• Incoming signals can be dropped from the traffic flow by activating the
appropriate mirror pair.
• For example, to have the signal carried on wavelength λ3 entering port3 be
dropped to port 2D, the mirrors are activated as shown in Fig. 10.37.
• When an optical signal is dropped, another path is established
simultaneously allowing a new signal to be added from port 2A to the
traffic flow.
• There are many variations on optical add/drop Port device configurations
depending on the switching technology that is used.
• However, in each case the operation is independent of wavelength, data
rate.
• Fig. 10.37 Example of adding and signal format.
 5.Polarization Controllers

• Polarization controllers offer high-speed real-time polarization control in a

closed-loop system that includes a polarization sensor and control logic.

• These devices dynamically adjust any incoming state of polarization to an

arbitrary output state of polarization.

• For example, the output could be a fixed, linearly polarized state.

• Nominally this is done through electronic control voltages that are applied
independently to adjustable polarization-retardation plates.

• Applications of polarization controllers include polarization mode

dispersion (PMD) compensation, polarization scrambling, and polarization
multiplexing.
 6.Chromatic Dispersion Compensators
• A critical factor in optical links operating above 2.5 Gb/s is compensating for
chromatic dispersion (material dispersion and waveguide dispersion) effects .
• This phenomenon causes pulse broadening which leads to increased bit error rates.
• An effective means of meeting the strict narrow dispersion tolerances for such high-
speed networks is to start with a first-order dispersion management method.
• Such as a dispersion compensating fiber, which operates across a wide spectral range.
• Then fine tuning can be carried out by means of a tunable dispersion compensator that
works over a narrow spectral band to correct for any residual and variable dispersion.
• The device for achieving this fine tuning is referred to as a dispersion compensatng
module (DCM).
• Similar to many other devices, this module can be tuned manually, remotely or
dynamically.
• Manual tuning is done by a network technician prior to or after installation of the
module in telecommunications racks.
• By using network management software it can be adjusted remotely from a central
management console by a network operator if this feature is included in its design.
Dynamic tunning is done by the module itself without any human intervention.
One method of achieving dynamic chromatic dispersion is through the use of a chirped fiber
Bragg grating (FBG), as shown in Fig. 10.38.
Here the grating spacing varies linearly over the length of the grating, which creates what is
known as a chirped grating.
This results in a range of wavelengths that satisfy the Bragg condition for reflection.
In the configuration shown, the spacing decreases along the fiber which means that the
Bragg wavelength decreases with distance along the grating length.
Consequently, the shorter-wavelength components of a pulse travel farther into the fiber
before being reflected.
Thereby they experience more delay in going through the grating than the longer-wavelength
components.
The relative delays induced by the grating on the different frequency components of the
pulse are the opposite of the delays caused by the fiber.
This results in dispersion compensation, since it compresses the pulse.
7.Tunable Light Sources
• Many different laser designs have been proposed to generate the spectrum of
wavelengths needed for DWDM networks.
• The use of discrete single-wavelength Distributed Fiber Bragg (DFB) or
Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) lasers is the simplest method.
• Here one hand-selects individual sources, each of which operates at a different
wavelength.
• Although it is straight forward, this method can be expensive because of the
high cost of individual lasers.
• In addition, the sources must be carefully controlled and monitored to ensure
that their wavelengths do not drift with time and temperature into the spectral
region of adjacent sources.
• Amore flexible implementation is to have a tunable laser-75.
• The fundamental concept to making such a laser is to change the cavity length
in which the lasing occurs in order to have the device emit at different
wavelengths.
 Tunable Light Sourcess(contd…)
• The basic tuning options include the following:
– Wavelength tuning of a laser by means of temperature or current variations
– Use of a specially designed wavelength tunable (or frequency tunable) laser, such
section as a multiple- laser or an external cavity laser
– Frequency locking to a particular lasing mode in a Fabry-Perot laser
– Spectral slicing by means of a fixed or tunable narrow-band optical filter and a
broadband LED
• With a frequency-tunable laser one needs only this one source. These devices are
based on DFB or DBR structures, which have a waveguide-type grating filter in the
lasing cavity.
• Frequency tuning is achieved either by changing the temperature of the device
(since the wavelength changes approximately 0.I nm/°C), or by altering the
injection current into the active (gain) section or the passive section (yielding a
wavelength change of 0.8 x 10- to 4.0x 10- nm/mA, Or, equivalently, 1 to 5
GHz/mA).
• The latter method is generally used.
• This results in a change in the effective refractive index, which causes a shift in the
peak output wavelength.
• The maximum tuning range depends on the optical output power, with a larger
output level resulting in a narrower tuning range.
Resonant Condition

Figure . The basic laser structure incorporating plane mirrors

and Spectral width =

where λ is the emission wavelength, n is the refractive index of the

amplifying medium and q is an integer.

These standing waves exist only at frequencies for which the

distance between the mirrors is an integral number of half
wavelengths.
Tunable Light Sources (contd…)
Figure 10.39 illustrates the tuning range of an injection-tunable three-section
DBR laser.
The tuning range Δ λtune can be estimated by

where Δneff is the change in the effective refractive index.

where A is the change in the effective

refractuve index
Tunable Light Sourcess(contd…)
• Practically, the maximum index change is around 1 percent, resulting in a
tuning range of l0-15 nm.
• Figure 10.40 depicts the relationships between tuning range, channel
spacing, and source spectral width.
• To avoid crosstalk between adjacent channels, a channel spacing of 10
times the source spectral width signal is often specified. That is.
Signal
 Tunable Light Sourcess(contd…)

• External-cavity laser designs include the use of Littman and Littrow cavities.
• The Littman cavity scheme uses a grating and a MEMS-based tuning mirror to
deliver a high level of side-mode suppression (typically 60 dB) with narrow line
width (0.3-5 MHz).
• The Littrow cavity method uses a grating to offer an increase in optical output
power but with a slight reduction in side-mode suppression (40 dB).
• In both devices coarse tuning is achieved by manual adjustment of a high-
precision adjuster and further fine tuning is achieved by means of a piezoelectric
actuator.
• Various multiple-section tunable lasers have been examined.
• These designs can include a distributed Bragg reflector, a gain portion, a passive
phase-correction section, and a coarse-tuning section.
 Tunable Light Sourcess(contd…)

• Modulating the Bragg-grating reflector provides a series, or comb, of

wavelength peaks.
• By using an external control current, the coarse tuner then selects one of these
peaks.
• Such a device can be tuned over a 32-nm range, which covers the entire C-band.
• Other designs utilize an integrated combination of an optical source (either a
broadband laser diode or LED).
• A waveguide grating multiplexer, and an optical amplifier.
• In this method, which is known as spectral slicing, a broad spectral output (for
example. from an amplified LED) is spectrally sliced by the waveguide grating to
produce a comb of precisely spaced optical frequencies, which become an array
of constant-output sources.
• These spectral slices are then fed into a sequence of individually addressable
wavelength channels that can be externally modulated.
 References

TEXT BOOKS:

1. Optical Fiber Communication – Gerd Keiser, 4th Ed., MGH, 2008.

2. Optical Fiber Communications– – John M. Senior, Pearson Education.

3rd Impression, 2007.