Abstract

Wavelength-routing techniques utilizing spectrally sliced LEDs or superluminescent diodes^1,2 (SLDs) may be critical to the implementation of broadband passive networks for the subscriber loop, for they allow all subscribers to utilize identical light sources. Previous broad-band multichannel WDM systems,^3-5 using LEDs or SLDs, exhibited substantial wavelength-dependent power penalties. In this paper we show that these penalties result from intersymbol interference, and we demonstrate that the fall times of the optical pulses obtained after wavelength filtering can vary by more than a factor of 4 over different portions of the LED/SLD spectrum. This effect has fundamental implications for the design of spectrally sliced WDM networks, and for any other lED/SLD-based transmission system where only a portion of the source spectrum reaches the receiver.

© 1992 Optical Society of America