Optical component technologies for FTTH applications

The demand for two way broadband telecommunication services is emerging for both residential and business use. In the longer term, the solution will undoubtedly be optical rich and will only occur if optical systems are not seen as being intrinsically different to the more conventional electrical systems. This paper gives a brief overview of the type of optical components that are required for Local Loop transmission network architectures such as Fibre to the Home (FTTH). It discusses some of the technology issues and presents a number of recent technology developments which should help enable commercial feasibility of lower cost optical components.