Fiber Optic Data Communication

Chapter 5

Optical Wavelength Division Multiplexing for Data Communication Networks

Casimer DeCusatis,     IBM Corporation, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601

5.1. Introduction and Background

Although fiber optic communication systems have seen widespread commercial use for some time, in recent years there has been increasing use of fiber in computer and data communication networks, as compared with their applications in voice and telephone communications. There are several unique requirements that distinguish the sub-field of optical data communication. Datacom systems must maintain very low bit error rates, typically between 10⁻¹² and 10⁻¹⁵, since the consequences of a single bit error can be very serious in a computer system; by contrast, background ...