Abstract

Wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) or optical frequency-division-multiplexing (OFDM) based transport networks are being intensively studied because they are expected to support broadband services [1-4]. Both transmission line capacity and processing node capacity will be increased by the simple node configuration. In addition, they are transparent to signal format and bit rate. One of the main features of the WDM network is its "scalabilty" against node number and geographic span, which means WDM signals can be transmitted end-to-end without O/E E/O conversion [2]. It is important to evaluate the network scale taking the optical amplifier, fiber nonlinearity and interchannel crosstalk into consideration. This paper describes the technological issues for constructing WDM based transport networks. A recently developed WDM ring network demonstrator is also reported.

© 1995 Optical Society of America