Tutorial on optical OFDM

Summary form only given. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is the modulation technique that is used in almost all radio and wired broadband communication systems. It is used in applications ranging from digital television, to ADSL, to powerline communications. Despite this widespread use, it has only been considered for application in optical systems in the last few years, but since then there has been an explosion of interest. Many papers have been published showing that OFDM can be applied in optical communications systems including optical wireless, long haul optical fiber, PON and plastic optical fiber. This tutorial will provide an introduction to OFDM tailored to an audience coming from an optical (rather than a radio) background. It will include an overview of recent optical OFDM research with an emphasis on optical wireless applications.