Method of upgrading transmission capacity by Raman amplification
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsLars Erik Eskildsen, Stephen Gregory Grubb, Per Bang Hansen, Andrew John Stentz, Kenneth Lee Walker
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Abstract
An upgrade method in which Raman amplification is added to an existing transmission system to provide an increase in power budget and permit a substantial increase in transmission capacity either by time division multiplexing (TDM), wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), or a combination thereof. The power budget improvement permits higher transmission capacity by increasing either a single channel data rate and/or the number of wavelength division multiplexed data channels that can be accommodated by existing fiber links.
Claims23
A method of operating an existing optical communication system, in which a single optical fiber provides a link between a first node and a second node, to provide increased information carrying capacity, the system having an initial maximum power budget, the first node having a signal transmitter operable at an associated wavelength, and the second node having a receiver, wherein data is transmitted from the first node to the second node at a first data transmission rate, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing at the second node, an optical pump source operable at a wavelength selected to provide, by counter-propagation, Raman gain to a signal output by the signal transmitter to thereby obtain an amplified signal, an increased effective receiver sensitivity, and increased maximum power budget;
- and;
- modulating the optical signal output by the signal transmitter with data to provide data transmission at a second rate higher than said first data transmission rate and incompatible with said initial maximum power budget but compatible with said increased maximum power budget.
A method of upgrading an existing optical communication system, in which a single optical fiber provides a link between a first node and a second node, to provide increased information carrying capacity, the system having an initial maximum power budget, the first node having a signal transmitter operable at an associated wavelength, and the second node having a receiver, wherein data is transmitted from the first node to the second node at a first data transmission rate, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing at the first node, a plurality of signal transmitters each operable to output a corresponding optical signal having a corresponding wavelength;
- and
- providing at the second node, at least one optical pump source operable at a wavelength selected to provide, by counter-propagation, Raman gain to a signal output by the signal transmitter to thereby obtain an amplified signal, an increased effective receiver sensitivity, and increased maximum power budget;
- whereby the optical signals output by said signal transmitters may be wavelength division multiplexed and modulated to provide data transmission at a second rate higher than said first data transmission rate and incompatible with said initial maximum power budget but compatible with said increased maximum power budget.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.