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Lecture

Dispersion Compensation in Optical Systems

In course

EE-440: Photonic systems and technology

The physics of optical communication components and their applications to communication systems will be covered. The course is intended to present the operation principles of contemporary optical communication systems employing optical fibers and modern op ...

Description

This lecture discusses the dispersion problem in optical systems, where dispersion, not loss, is the main limitation at high bit rates. Various compensation methods in both optical and electrical domains are explored, including dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) and slope compensation. The importance of slope matching for perfect dispersion compensation is highlighted, along with the disadvantages of DCF such as added loss and nonlinear effects. Different dispersion maps and fixed compensation techniques using fiber spans are also covered, aiming to cancel the phase factor and achieve optimal system performance.

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Instructor

Camille Sophie Brès

Prof. Camille-Sophie Brès is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Electrical Engineering within the School of Engineering of EPFL. Her primary research interests are centered optical communications and on parametric and nonlinear processes in optical fiber and non-silica platforms for ultrafast signal processing, all optical networks, sensing and light sources. She has authored over thirty peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented more than 15 papers at international conferences. She received the Gordon Wu Fellowship for her graduate studies, the NSF CIANs Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2009, the Early Career Woman in Engineering Award in 2016. She is a senior member of the IEEE and OSA. 2019 - present: Associate Professor in the Institute of Electrical Engineering, EPFL 2011 - 2018: Assistant Professor in the Institute of Electrical Engineering, EPFL 2010 - 2011: Assistant Project Scientist, University of California San Diego (UCSD) 2007 - 2010: Postdoc in ECE, University of California San Diego (UCSD) 2002 - 2007: Ph.D in Electrical Engineering, Princeton University 1998 - 2002: B.Eng with Honours in Electrical Engineering, McGill University

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Related concepts (18)

Double-clad fiber

Double-clad fiber (DCF) is a class of optical fiber with a structure consisting of three layers of optical material instead of the usual two. The inner-most layer is called the core. It is surrounded by the inner cladding, which is surrounded by the outer cladding. The three layers are made of materials with different refractive indices. There are two different kinds of double-clad fibers. The first was developed early in optical fiber history with the purpose of engineering the dispersion of optical fibers.

Fiber-optic communication

Fiber-optic communication is a method of transmitting information from one place to another by sending pulses of infrared or visible light through an optical fiber. The light is a form of carrier wave that is modulated to carry information. Fiber is preferred over electrical cabling when high bandwidth, long distance, or immunity to electromagnetic interference is required. This type of communication can transmit voice, video, and telemetry through local area networks or across long distances.

Optical fiber

An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data transfer rates) than electrical cables.

Optical amplifier

An optical amplifier is a device that amplifies an optical signal directly, without the need to first convert it to an electrical signal. An optical amplifier may be thought of as a laser without an optical cavity, or one in which feedback from the cavity is suppressed. Optical amplifiers are important in optical communication and laser physics. They are used as optical repeaters in the long distance fiberoptic cables which carry much of the world's telecommunication links.

Dispersion (optics)

In optics and in wave propagation in general, dispersion is the phenomenon in which the phase velocity of a wave depends on its frequency; sometimes the term chromatic dispersion is used for specificity to optics in particular. A medium having this common property may be termed a dispersive medium (plural dispersive media). Although the term is used in the field of optics to describe light and other electromagnetic waves, dispersion in the same sense can apply to any sort of wave motion such as acoustic dispersion in the case of sound and seismic waves, and in gravity waves (ocean waves).

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