A 80 km reach fully passive WDM-PON based on reflective ONUs

Area of Science:

• Optical Communications
• Telecommunications Engineering
• Photonics

Background:

• Passive Optical Networks (PONs) are crucial for broadband access.
• Extending the reach of WDM PONs without in-line amplification presents significant challenges.
• Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs) offer a cost-effective solution for passive network components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel line coding scheme for WDM PONs.
• To enhance the reach and power budget of WDM PONs utilizing Reflective SOAs.
• To demonstrate a high-speed, long-reach, and fully passive optical network.

Main Methods:

• Implementing a combination of Inverse RZ coding for downlink and RZ coding for uplink.
• Utilizing Reflective SOAs as the core component for signal regeneration.
• Experimentally assessing the performance over an 80 km G.652 fiber feeder at 1.25 Gb/s.

Main Results:

• Achieved full downstream signal remodulation even with low input power levels (-35 dBm) to the Reflective SOA.
• Successfully demonstrated a fully passive, full-duplex, and symmetrical 1.25 Gb/s WDM-PON system.
• Extended the network reach significantly without requiring in-line optical amplifiers.

Conclusions:

• The proposed line coding strategy effectively extends the reach of WDM PONs.
• The use of Reflective SOAs combined with the novel coding scheme improves system power budget and enables longer transmission distances.
• This solution offers a viable path towards cost-effective, high-performance passive optical networks.