- Introduction to optical networks and communications
- Overview of fiber optical communications systems
- Fundamental drivers behind use of light as a communications medium
- History of optical network technology. Digital representation of signals
- OSI protocol stack
- Basic physics review
- Physical principles of optical fiber
- Basic principles of optics as applied to fiber optic devices
- Summary of relevant background from physics
- Total internal reflection
- Diffraction and interference
- Types of optical fiber and devices and principles of their operation
- Dispersion
- Lasers
- Photons and matter
- Conductors, semiconductors, and insulators
- Resonators
- Population inversion
- Laser operation
- Laser characteristics
- LEDs and Semiconductor Lasers
- Doping of semiconductors
- Band gaps
- LED operation
- Semiconductor lasers
- Light coupling to/from fibers
- Limitations of semiconductor light sources
- How to choose the best light source
- Semiconductor light detectors
- Types of detectors
- Operation of detectors
- Photodiodes and phototransistors
- Avalanche photodiodes
- Noise sources
- Signal-to-noise considerations
- Optical amplifiers
- Basic principles of optical amplifiers
- EDFAs
- Semiconductor optical amplifiers
- Other optical networking devices
- Couplers
- Splitters
- Isolators
- GRINs
- Fabry-Perot and dielectric filters
- Gratings
- FBGs
- AWGs
- Modulators
- Switches
- Interferometers
- Modulation methods
- OOK
- Multi-state coding
- AM
- FSK
- PSK
- PokSK
- Optical fiber fabrication
- Purification
- Doping
- OVD process
- Structure of practical fibers
- Cabling environments
- Dangers to optical fiber
- Joining optical fibers
- Fiber optic connectors
- Fiber optic testing
- General principles
- Power meters
- Optical spectrum analyzer
- Optical time domain reflectometer
- Bandwidth testers
- Opto-electronic networks
- FDDI
- Fiber channel
- SONET and SDH
- Overview
- Advantages
- Basic structure
- Frame generation
- Frame structure
- SONET/SDH hierarchy
- Overhead
- Alarms
- Tributaries and virtual tributaries
- Pointers
- SONET network configurations
- Ethernet over optical networks
- Brief review of Ethernet
- Ethernet operation
- CSMA/CD
- Implementation (earlier)
- Implementation (in optical networks)
- Ethernet over SONET
- Wave Division Multiplexing
- Why do it
- Types
- DWDM overview
- DWDM capacity
- DWDM components
- DWDM architecture
- ITU standards
- Physical limitations
- Typical problems in DWDM networks
- OEO and all-optical switching
- Noise and detection
- Types of noise and distortion which affects optical signals
- Methods of reducing effects of noise and distortion
- Optimal detection methods and devices.
- Optical system design
- How fiber optic systems differ from conventional systems
- Assembly of a communications network from fiber optic components
- Calculation of loss and dispersion
- Carrier network architectures
- Data transmission technologies
- Packet over SONET/SDH (POS)
- Dynamic Packet Transport (DPT)
- MPLS
- How optical networking services are marketed and sold
- What you can buy
- How to determine what you need
- Pricing in today’s world
- Pricing tools
- Optical networking in the real world
- Business aspects of optical networking
- Interaction among technology, finance, human factors
- Why better technology doesn’t always sell in the marketplace
- Future directions in all-optical networks
- Free-space optical networks
- Scaling limitations of optical networks
- Technology directions and impact on design and deployment of optical networks
- Wrap-up: Course Recap, Discussion, Evaluation