Photonic Networks

The day when fiber will deliver new, yet now only foreseeable, broadband ser vices to the end user is getting nearer and nearer as we make our way towards the prophetic year 2000. Step by step, as we move from first generation lasers and fibers to the by now common erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, looking forward to such things as wavelength multiplexing and solitons, photonic switching and optical storage, the community of researchers in optical communications has stepped into the era of photonic networks. It is not just a question of terminology. Optical communication means tech nology to the same extent that photonic network means services. If it is true that information is just as marketable a product as oil or coke, the providing of an extensive global information infrastructure may end up having an even greater impact than the setting up of a world-wide railroad network did at the beginning of the industrial era. Just like wagons, bandwidth will be responsible for carrying and delivering goods to customers. The challenge for all of us in this field is for it to function in every section of the overall network, transport, access and customer area, in the best possible way: the fastest, most economical and most flexible. New services provided by a new network that exploits the potential and peculiarities of photonics surely requires a rethinking of solutions, new ideas, new architec tures, new design, especially where electronics is still dominant, as in transport and access networks.

Klappentext

The field of photonic networks lies at the cutting edge of optical communication research. It is a technology which will fulfil the increasing need for faster, more flexible, high bandwidth communication services. Originally presented at the 8th International Tyrrhenian Workshop on Digital Communications held in Lerici, September 1996, these papers explore the current state of research in optical networks, with sections on transport networks, photonic access, and developments towards photonic packet switching. Particular emphasis is given to the description of advanced optical components and enabling technologies, together with detailed system analyses. The key design issues and the most up-to-date research trends are fully considered. Written by researchers working at the forefront of this evolving technology, this volume admirably reflects present knowledge in a field that will impact the future of communications.

Inhalt
1: Transport Networks.- Optical Networks: from Myth to Reality.- The ATT/DEC/MIT All-Optical Network Architecture.- PHOTONET WDM Supervision.- Problems and their Possible Solutions in the Dispersed Photonic Digital Networks.- Multiwavelength Ring Architectures and Protection Schemes.- Architectures for Hardware and Software Scalable Multiwavelength Networks.- Hypermedia Photonic Information Networks.- WDM Devices, State of the Art.- Tunable Laser Diodes.- Wavelength Conversion Technology.- Planar Lightwave Circuits (PLCs).- Optical Fiber Devices.- System Applications and Emerging Technologies for Photonic Switching.- System Demonstrations and Assessment of Optical Switching in Broadband Networks.- Technologies and Applications for Space-Switching in Multi-Wavelength Networks.- System Applications of Large-Scale Optical Switch Matrices Using Silica-Based Planar Lightwave Circuits.- Photonic Technologies for Interconnection and Switching: Present and Future Applications.- 2: Access Networks.- WDM Passive Optical Networks: A Robust and Flexible Infrastructure for Local Access.- Upgrade of Hybrid Fibre Coax Networks Towards Bi-directional Access.- Laser Diodes for Local Access.- Functional Optical Modules Based on Planar Waveguides.- A 50 Mb/s Low Cost ONU Receiver for V-PON.- Ubiquitous Optical Link in Access and Residential Broadband Networks.- 3: Packet Switched Networks.- State of the Art of Photonic Packet Switched Networks.- Large-Capacity WDM Packet Switching.- From STARNET to CORD: Lessons Learned from Stanford WDM Projects.- System Functionalities and Architectures in Photonic Packet Switching.- Optical Packet Switching System Based on Optical Amplifier Gates.- Synchronisation Issues in Optical Packet Switched Networks.- All Optical Multihop Architectures for Photonic Packet Switching.- Deflection Routing in Multihop Space-Division Optical Networks.- Ultrafast All-Optical Signal Processing for Packet Switching.- Wavelength Division Multiplexed Local Area Networks Using Low-Cost Optoelectronics.- Optoelectronic Components for Computer Interconnects.- High Speed Circuits for Optical Networks.- Data Processing and Data Communication Networks The Drive for Cost Effective Photonic Technology.- Application of LiNbO3 Acousto Optic Tunable Switches and Filters in WDM Transmission Networks at High Bit Rates.- Systems Applications for All-Optical Semiconductor Switching Devices.