WDM ring network using a centralized multiwavelength light source and add-drop multiplexing filters

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) ring network employing a centralized multiwavelength light source to supply all nodes with optical carriers of precise wavelength spacing. This approach overcomes the problem of monitoring and controlling the wavelengths of optical sources dispersed throughout the network. A four-node test bed using optical lattice-type add-drop multiplexing filters and a multiwavelength light source based on resonant cavity-enhanced four wave mixing in a Fabry-Perot laser diode was constructed to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. The effects of coherent crosstalk in such networks are analyzed, and methods such as phase scrambling or the use of a pulsed optical source are shown to significantly reduce the effects of coherent crosstalk. The use of four-port add-drop multiplexer (ADM) filters instead of 1:n optical wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexers to implement the wavelength add-drop function at each node is shown to lead to a broader transmission bandwidth for each channel and also easier compatibility with the coherent crosstalk suppression mechanisms described.