Silicon photonics for next generation FDM/FDMA PON

Frequency division multiplexing/frequency division multi-access passive optical networks are shown to provide a possible solution in terms of performance, manufacturability and cost to the specification of the second next generation passive optical access systems (NG-PON2). The upstream capacity of a particular implementation is experimentally evaluated, and the implementation of the required optical network unit in silicon photonics is analyzed, as this complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible technology is well suited for mass market applications.