Optical Amplifier Applications in Fiber Optic Local Networks

The number of waveguide taps
N
that a passive optical fiber bus can accommodate is typically quite low, due to significant attenuation of the signal in the taps and splices. In an effort to increase
N
substantially, this paper investigates the potential use of optical amplifiers to boost the signal along the bus. An analysis is performed for both direct detection and heterodyne detection. Values of
N
are determined for a wide range of system and device parameters, such as signal duration, amplifier noise bandwidth, and amplifier saturation power. It is found that the use of optical amplifiers can increase
N
by at least an order of magnitude, and by as much as two orders of magnitude under many circumstances.