Optical Communications, 2nd Edition

PREFACE

This second edition is an updated version of our earlier text published in 1976. Much of the mathematical modeling and statistical analysis that was detailed in that first edition has been significantly reduced, so as to be more compatible with modern analysis. We have focused on those specific optical technologies that have emerged since that first book. In addition we have inserted new material in the key areas of digital communications, fiberoptics, lightwave networks, atmospheric channels, and space links, all of which are now critical topics in optical applications. We have also inserted brief sections on optical hardware and device descriptions to make the text somewhat self-contained, and to bridge the gap between the theory emphasized in the first edition and the applied analysis emphasized here. We have again chosen to integrate both fiber and space optics in our presentation which, we feel, separates the book from the many recent optics books that concentrate solely on fiber components and fiber communications.

The objective of the new edition remains the same as that of the first—to emphasize the system aspects of optical communications, as opposed to detailed hardware and device description. A reader familiar with our first edition will find that although much of the earlier analytical procedures are still applicable, the present edition is more streamlined and oriented toward modern analysis and design. The material is again presented in a textbook format with ...