Bidirectional multiwavelength ring networks: performance analysis and experimental studies

High-capacity multiwavelength ring networks with bidirectional WDM add/drop multiplexer (WADM) are analyzed and demonstrated. All channels can be added/dropped independently in each direction. The capacity of a bidirectional ring is found to be approximately twice that of a unidirectional ring. An eight-wavelength WADM is demonstrated for a data rate of 10 Gb/s per channel, providing an overall capacity of 80 Gb/s.