Abstract
This course provides an overview of fiber optic communications technology and applications. It assumes some general technical background in telecommunications, but no prior knowledge of fiber optics. The basic components of an optical fiber communication system include the transmitter (laser and LED), the fiber (multimode, single mode, dispersion-shifted) and the receiver (PIN and APD detectors, coherent detectors, optical preamplifiers, receiver electronics). These technologies are defined, their basic operating principles summarized, key parameters affecting system performance identified, and representative values given for both practical systems and current research results. Factors affecting application (both point-to-point and networking) are identified. Emphasis is on physical principles, performance limits, and technology and application directions.

Educational Course Subject Areas
Communications ,  Lasers & Optics

Keywords
bandwidth ,  decibel (dB) ,  graded index fiber ,  index of refraction ,  longitudinal mode ,  mode ,  modulation ,  multiplexing ,  numerical aperture (NA) ,  photon ,  Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) ,  PN Junction, PIN photodiode ,  Raman Optical Amplifier ,  Rayleigh sc