Conventional WDM systems multiplex channels with different signal bandwidths using fixed and equal channel spacing. As a result, their spectral efficiency is rather poor. If the wavelength and the bandwidth of each channel in a WDM system could be freely changed as needed, a variety of services with different signal bandwidths could be accommodated efficiently. This is expected to yield high spectral efficiency. For this purpose, this paper proposes a WDM optically amplified system that combines optical power splitting with homodyne detection; its use in three configurations, point to point, ring (center to remote nodes), and peer to peer, is described. Coherent optical systems generally need a frequency stable local light source in addition to a sending light source in each WDM channel. We improve cost effectiveness by proposing that the output of one light source be divided to yield the local light for frequency selection by homodyne detection and the sending light source whose output is externally modulated by transmission signal. In this configuration, the local light level is low to permit high levels of sending power. The key problem is how to get high SNR with limited low-level local lights. This paper derives the optimum receiving loss condition that can maximize the SNR with local light levels as low as -20 dBm for the point to point configuration. For the ring configuration, the system overcomes the optical power loss created by splitting numbers over 1,000 even if the local lights are as low as 0 dBm. The ring configuration can, therefore, flexibly accommodate many users and services. We also elucidate the relation between SNR and BER for DPSK homodyne detection in a bandwidth-flexible system.

An inverse-RZ modulation scheme for dense WDM systems is proposed. Inverse-RZ signals have tolerances to chromatic dispersion and optical bandwidth limitation. The strongly pre-filtered inverse-RZ signals can be adapted to ultra-dense WDM systems, in which the spectral efficiencies are over 1.0 b/s/Hz. We have confirmed the error-free transmission of pre-filtered and co-polarized 40-Gb/s inverse-RZ signals where the channel intervals were 37.5 GHz.

An upgrade scheme using identical sending lights and local lights for optical amplifier systems based on homodyne detection is described. Optimum receiving loss for maximizing the SNR is analytically derived for the proposed configuration where the local taped lights are low level to avoid a sending power decrease. Derived formulas describing the optimum loss condition and the maximum SNR show that 10 Gbit/s systems can be cost effectively upgraded to 40 Gbit/s systems with the same repeater spacing.

In modern high-capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmission systems, there is increasing demand for large transmission capacity. To achieve this purpose, an L-band (1565-1625 nm) erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is very effective method because the conventional silica-based EDF can be used. In EDFAs that used in WDM transmission systems, the gain flatness of EDFA is very important. A passive gain equalizer flattens the gain profile of EDFA. But the gain flatness in L-band deteriorates due to dynamic gain-tilt (DGT) and temperature gain-tilt (TGT) when the operating condition of the EDFA changes, while the EDFAs should maintain the gain flatness even if the operating condition has changed. To solve this problem, we propose an active gain-slope compensation technique for the L-band EDFA using a thulium-doped fiber (TDF). The EDFA actively gain-slope compensated by the TDF compensator keeps the gain profile constant for the wide input power range of more than 8 dB, a wide temperature range of 65 without gain-tilt in a wavelength band between 1575 nm and 1610 nm. Furthermore, the EDFA keeps a low noise figure of less than 7.5 dB.

With the emerging technology of photonic networks, careful design becomes necessary to make most of the already installed fibre capacity. Appropriate numerical tools are readily available. Usually, these are based on the split-step Fourier method (SSFM), employing the fast Fourier transform (FFT). With N discretization points, the complexity of the SSFM is O(N log2N). For real-world wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, the simulation time can be of the order of days, so any speed improvement would be most welcome. We show that the SSFM is a special case of the so-called collocation method with harmonic basis functions. However, for modelling nonlinear optical waveguides, various other basis function systems offer significant advantages. For calculating the propagation of single soliton-like impulses, a problem-adapted Gauss-Hermite basis leads to a strongly reduced computation time compared to the SSFM . Further, using a basis function system constructed from a scaling function, which generates a compactly supported wavelet, we developed a new and flexible split-step wavelet collocation method (SSWCM). This technique is independent of the propagating impulse shapes, and provides a complexity of the order O(N) for a fixed accuracy. For a typical modelling situation with up to 64 WDM channels, the SSWCM leads to significantly shorter computation times than the standard SSFM.

In erbium doped optical fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) used in modern high-capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, the gain flatness of EDFA is very important in wide-band long-haul systems. In the EDFAs using the passive gain equalizers, the gain flatness deteriorates due to gain-tilt when the operating condition of the EDFA changes, while the EDFAs should maintain the gain flatness even if the operating condition has changed. To solve this problem, we have developed an active gain-slope compensation technique of an EDFA using a thulium-doped optical fiber (TDF) as a saturable absorber. The actively gain-slope compensated EDFA with the TDF compensator keeps the gain profile constant for the wide gain dynamic range more than 8 dB with the low noise figure less than 6 dB in the wavelength range of 1539-1564 nm.

In erbium doped optical fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) used in modern high-capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, the gain flatness of EDFA is very important in wide-band long-haul systems. In the EDFAs using the passive gain equalizers, the gain flatness deteriorates due to gain-tilt when the operating condition of the EDFA changes, while the EDFAs should maintain the gain flatness even if the operating condition has changed. To solve this problem, we have developed an active gain-slope compensation technique of an EDFA using a thulium-doped optical fiber (TDF) as a saturable absorber. The actively gain-slope compensated EDFA with the TDF compensator keeps the gain profile constant for the wide gain dynamic range more than 8 dB with the low noise figure less than 6 dB in the wavelength range of 1539-1564 nm.

1.5 µm-band LiNbO3 quasiphase matched (QPM) wavelength converters consisting of a periodical domain inverted structure and a proton exchanged waveguide, have been studied in detail both theoretically and experimentally. Optimum device fabrication conditions are investigated with respected to waveguide propagation loss, coupling loss to a single-mode fiber and wavelength conversion efficiency. A normalized conversion efficiency as high as 200 %/W (by a SHG measurement) and a fiber-to-fiber insertion loss of less than 3.5 dB (@1.55 µm) is obtained for a wavelength converter module with a device length of 40 mm. It is shown that a highly uniform periodical domain inverted structure and a uniform proton exchange waveguide are key to obtaining efficient wavelength conversion. The tolerance of the waveguide width fluctuation is found to be very critical and is less than 20 nm for a 40 mm-long device. Future optimization of LiNbO3 QPM wavelength converters and the possible device applications in future optical communication systems are also presented.