Wavelength-division multiplexing

In fiber-optic communications, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is a technology

which multiplexes a number of optical carrier signals onto a single optical fiber by using
different wavelengths (i.e., colors) of laser light. This technique enables
bidirectional communications over one strand of fiber, as well as multiplication of capacity.
The term wavelength-division multiplexing is commonly applied to an optical carrier (which is
typically described by its wavelength), whereas frequency-division multiplexing typically applies to a
radio carrier (which is more often described by frequency). Since wavelength and frequency are tied
together through a simple directly inverse relationship, in which the product of frequency and
wavelength equals c (the propagation speed of light), the two terms actually describe the same
concept.

Contents -

 1WDM systems
 2Coarse WDM
 3Dense WDM
o 3.1DWDM systems
o 3.2Wavelength-converting transponders
o 3.3Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM)
o 3.4Optical cross connects (OXCs)
 4Enhanced WDM
 5Transceivers versus transponders
 6Implementations

WDM systems[edit]

WDM operating principle

Nortel's WDM System

A WDM system uses a multiplexer at the transmitter to join the several signals together, and
a demultiplexer at the receiver to split them apart. With the right type of fiber it is possible to have a
device that does both simultaneously, and can function as an optical add-drop multiplexer. The
optical filtering devices used have conventionally been etalons (stable solid-state single-
frequency Fabry–Pérot interferometers in the form of thin-film-coated optical glass).
The first WDM systems combined only two signals. Modern systems can handle up to 160 signals
and can thus expand a basic 10 Gbit/s system over a single fiber pair to over 1.6 Tbit/s.
WDM systems are popular with telecommunications companies because they allow them to expand
the capacity of the network without laying more fiber.
Most WDM systems operate on single-mode fiber optical cables (in single-mode fibers, where we
can have waves with different frequencies, but of the same mode), which have a core diameter of
9 µm. Certain forms of WDM can also be used in multi-mode fiber cables (also known as premises
cables - Multi-mode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for communication over short
distances, such as within a building or on a campus. Typical multimode links have data rates of 10
Mbit/s to 10 Gbit/s over link lengths of up to 600 meters (2000 feet) — more than sufficient for the
majority of premises applications) which have core diameters of 50 or 62.5 µm.
WDM systems are divided into different wavelength patterns, coarse (CWDM) and dense (DWDM).
Coarse WDM provides up to 16 channels across multiple transmission windows of silica
fibers. Dense wavelength division multiplexing(DWDM) uses the C-Band transmission window but
with denser channel spacing. Channel plans vary, but a typical DWDM system would use 40
channels at 100 GHz spacing or 80 channels with 50 GHz spacing.
WDM, DWDM and CWDM are based on the same concept of using multiple wavelengths of light on
a single fiber, but differ in the spacing of the wavelengths, number of channels, and the ability to
amplify the multiplexed signals in the optical space. EDFA provide an efficient wideband
amplification for the C-band,
Coarse WDM[edit]
The main characteristic of the recent ITU CWDM standard is that the signals are not spaced
appropriately for amplification by EDFAs. This therefore limits the total CWDM optical span to
somewhere near 60 km for a 2.5 Gbit/s signal, which is suitable for use in metropolitan applications.
The relaxed optical frequency stabilization requirements allow the associated costs of CWDM to
approach those of non-WDM optical components.
CWDM is also being used in cable television networks, where different wavelengths are used for
the downstream and upstream signals. In these systems, the wavelengths used are often widely
separated, for example the downstream signal might be at 1310 nm while the upstream signal is at
1550 nm.
An interesting and relatively recent development relating coarse WDM is the creation of GBIC and
small form factor pluggable (SFP) transceivers utilizing standardized CWDM wavelengths.

Dense WDM[edit]
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) refers originally to optical signals multiplexed within
the 1550 nm band so as to leverage the capabilities (and cost) of erbium doped fiber
amplifiers (EDFAs), which are effective for wavelengths between approximately 1525–1565 nm (C
band), or 1570–1610 nm (L band). EDFAs were originally developed to replace SONET/SDH optical-
electrical-optical (OEO) regenerators, which they have made practically obsolete. EDFAs can
amplify any optical signal in their operating range, regardless of the modulated bit rate. In terms of
multi-wavelength signals, so long as the EDFA has enough pump energy available to it, it can
amplify as many optical signals as can be multiplexed into its amplification band (though signal
densities are limited by choice of modulation format). EDFAs therefore allow a single-channel optical
link to be upgraded in bit rate by replacing only equipment at the ends of the link, while retaining the
existing EDFA or series of EDFAs through a long haul route. Furthermore, single-wavelength links
using EDFAs can similarly be upgraded to WDM links at reasonable cost. The EDFA's cost is thus
leveraged across as many channels as can be multiplexed into the 1550 nm band.
DWDM systems[edit]
At this stage, a basic DWDM system contains several main components:

1. A DWDM terminal multiplexer. The terminal multiplexer contains a wavelength-converting

transponder for each data signal, an optical multiplexer and where necessary an optical
amplifier (EDFA). Each wavelength-converting transponder receives an optical data signal
from the client-layer, such as Synchronous optical networking [SONET /SDH] or another
type of data signal, converts this signal into the electrical domain and re-transmits the signal
at a specific wavelength using a 1,550 nm band laser. These data signals are then
combined together into a multi-wavelength optical signal using an optical multiplexer, for
transmission over a single fiber (e.g., SMF-28 fiber). The terminal multiplexer may or may
not also include a local transmit EDFA for power amplification of the multi-wavelength optical
signal. In the mid-1990s DWDM systems contained 4 or 8 wavelength-converting
transponders; by 2000 or so, commercial systems capable of carrying 128 signals were
available.
2. An intermediate line repeater is placed approximately every 80–100 km to compensate for
the loss of optical power as the signal travels along the fiber. The 'multi-wavelength optical
signal' is amplified by an EDFA, which usually consists of several amplifier stages.
3. An intermediate optical terminal, or optical add-drop multiplexer. This is a remote
amplification site that amplifies the multi-wavelength signal that may have traversed up to
140 km or more before reaching the remote site. Optical diagnostics and telemetry are often
extracted or inserted at such a site, to allow for localization of any fiber breaks or signal
 impairments. In more sophisticated systems (which are no longer point-to-point), several
signals out of the multi-wavelength optical signal may be removed and dropped locally.
4. A DWDM terminal demultiplexer. At the remote site, the terminal de-multiplexer consisting
of an optical de-multiplexer and one or more wavelength-converting transponders separates
the multi-wavelength optical signal back into individual data signals and outputs them on
separate fibers for client-layer systems (such asSONET/SDH). Originally, this de-
multiplexing was performed entirely passively, except for some telemetry, as most SONET
systems can receive 1,550 nm signals. However, in order to allow for transmission to remote
client-layer systems (and to allow for digital domain signal integrity determination) such de-
multiplexed signals are usually sent to O/E/O output transponders prior to being relayed to
their client-layer systems. Often, the functionality of output transponder has been integrated
into that of input transponder, so that most commercial systems have transponders that
support bi-directional interfaces on both their 1,550 nm (i.e., internal) side, and external (i.e.,
client-facing) side. Transponders in some systems supporting 40 GHz nominal operation
may also perform forward error correction (FEC) via digital wrapper technology, as
described in the ITU-T G.709 standard.
5. Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC). This is data channel which uses an additional
wavelength usually outside the EDFA amplification band (at 1,510 nm, 1,620 nm, 1,310 nm
or another proprietary wavelength). The OSC carries information about the multi-wavelength
optical signal as well as remote conditions at the optical terminal or EDFA site. It is also
normally used for remote software upgrades and user (i.e., network operator) Network
Management information. It is the multi-wavelength analogue to SONET's DCC (or
supervisory channel). ITU standards suggest that the OSC should utilize an OC-3 signal
structure, though some vendors have opted to use 100 megabit Ethernet or another signal
format. Unlike the 1550 nm multi-wavelength signal containing client data, the OSC is
always terminated at intermediate amplifier sites, where it receives local information before
re-transmission.
The introduction of the ITU-T G.694.1[3] frequency grid in 2002 has made it easier to integrate WDM
with older but more standard SONET/SDH systems. WDM wavelengths are positioned in a grid
having exactly 100 GHz (about 0.8 nm) spacing in optical frequency, with a reference frequency
fixed at 193.10 THz (1,552.52 nm).[4] The main grid is placed inside the optical fiber amplifier
bandwidth, but can be extended to wider bandwidths. Today's DWDM systems use 50 GHz or even
25 GHz channel spacing for up to 160 channel operation.[5]
DWDM systems have to maintain more stable wavelength or frequency than those needed for
CWDM because of the closer spacing of the wavelengths. Precision temperature control of laser
transmitter is required in DWDM systems to prevent "drift" off a very narrow frequency window of the
order of a few GHz. In addition, since DWDM provides greater maximum capacity it tends to be used
at a higher level in the communications hierarchy than CWDM, for example on the Internet
backbone and is therefore associated with higher modulation rates, thus creating a smaller market
for DWDM devices with very high performance. These factors of smaller volume and higher
performance result in DWDM systems typically being more expensive than CWDM.
Recent innovations in DWDM transport systems include pluggable and software-tunable transceiver
modules capable of operating on 40 or 80 channels. This dramatically reduces the need for discrete
spare pluggable modules, when a handful of pluggable devices can handle the full range of
wavelengths.
Wavelength-converting transponders[edit]
At this stage, some details concerning wavelength-converting transponders should be discussed, as
this will clarify the role played by current DWDM technology as an additional optical transport layer. It
will also serve to outline the evolution of such systems over the last 10 or so years.
As stated above, wavelength-converting transponders served originally to translate the transmit
wavelength of a client-layer signal into one of the DWDM system's internal wavelengths in the
1,550 nm band (note that even external wavelengths in the 1,550 nm will most likely need to be
translated, as they will almost certainly not have the required frequency stability tolerances nor will it
have the optical power necessary for the system's EDFA).
In the mid-1990s, however, wavelength converting transponders rapidly took on the additional
function of signal regeneration. Signal regeneration in transponders quickly evolved through 1R to
2R to 3R and into overhead-monitoring multi-bitrate 3R regenerators. These differences are outlined
below:
1R Retransmission. Basically, early transponders were "garbage in garbage out" in that their output
was nearly an analogue "copy" of the received optical signal, with little signal cleanup occurring. This
limited the reach of early DWDM systems because the signal had to be handed off to a client-layer
receiver (likely from a different vendor) before the signal deteriorated too far. Signal monitoring was
basically confined to optical domain parameters such as received power.

2R Re-time and re-transmit. Transponders of this type were not very common and utilized a quasi-
digital Schmitt-triggering method for signal clean-up. Some rudimentary signal-quality monitoring
was done by such transmitters that basically looked at analogue parameters.

3R Re-time, re-transmit, re-shape. 3R Transponders were fully digital and normally able to
view SONET/SDH section layer overhead bytes such as A1 and A2 to determine signal quality
health. Many systems will offer 2.5 Gbit/s transponders, which will normally mean the transponder is
able to perform 3R regeneration on OC-3/12/48 signals, and possibly gigabit Ethernet, and reporting
on signal health by monitoring SONET/SDH section layer overhead bytes. Many transponders will
be able to perform full multi-rate 3R in both directions. Some vendors offer 10 Gbit/s transponders,
which will perform Section layer overhead monitoring to all rates up to and including OC-192.

Muxponder
The muxponder (from multiplexed transponder) has different names depending on vendor. It
essentially performs some relatively simple time-division multiplexing of lower-rate signals into a
higher-rate carrier within the system (a common example is the ability to accept 4 OC-48s and then
output a single OC-192 in the 1,550 nm band). More recent muxponder designs have absorbed
more and more TDM functionality, in some cases obviating the need for
traditional SONET/SDH transport equipment.
Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM)[edit]
Main article: Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer
As mentioned above, intermediate optical amplification sites in DWDM systems may allow for the
dropping and adding of certain wavelength channels. In most systems deployed as of August 2006
this is done infrequently, because adding or dropping wavelengths requires manually inserting or
replacing wavelength-selective cards. This is costly, and in some systems requires that all active
traffic be removed from the DWDM system, because inserting or removing the wavelength-specific
cards interrupts the multi-wavelength optical signal.
With a ROADM, network operators can remotely reconfigure the multiplexer by sending soft
commands. The architecture of the ROADM is such that dropping or adding wavelengths does not
interrupt the "pass-through" channels. Numerous technological approaches are utilized for various
commercial ROADMs, the tradeoff being between cost, optical power, and flexibility.
Optical cross connects (OXCs)[edit]
Main article: Optical cross-connect
When the network topology is a mesh, where nodes are interconnected by fibers to form an arbitrary
graph, an additional fiber interconnection device is needed to route the signals from an input port to
the desired output port. These devices are called optical crossconnectors (OXCs). Various
categories of OXCs include electronic ("opaque"), optical ("transparent"), and wavelength selective
devices.

Enhanced WDM[edit]
Cisco's Enhanced WDM system combines 1 GB Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing (CWDM)
connections using SFPs and GBICs with 10 GB Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
connections using XENPAK, X2 or XFP DWDM modules. These DWDM connections can either be
passive or boosted to allow a longer range for the connection.

Transceivers versus transponders[edit]

1-Transceivers – Since communication over a single wavelength is one-way (simplex
communication), and most practical communication systems require two-way (duplex
communication) communication, two wavelengths will be required (which might or might not be on
the same fiber, but typically they will be each on a separate fiber in a so-called fiber pair). As a
result, at each end both a transmitter (to send a signal over a first wavelength) and a receiver (to
receive a signal over a second wavelength) will be required. A combination of a transmitter and a
receiver is called a transceiver; it converts an electrical signal to and from an optical signal. There
are usually transreceiver types based on WDM technology.

2-Coarse WDM (CWDM) Transceivers: Wavelength 1270 nm, 1290 nm, 1310 nm, 1330 nm,
1350 nm, 1370 nm, 1390 nm, 1410 nm, 1430 nm, 1450 nm, 1470 nm, 1490 nm, 1510 nm, 1530 nm,
1550 nm, 1570 nm, 1590 nm, 1610 nm.[6]

3-Dense WDM (DWDM) Transceivers: Channel 17 to Channel 61 according to ITU-T.[7]

4-Transponder – In practice, the signal inputs and outputs will not be electrical but optical instead
(typically at 1550 nm). This means that in effect we need wavelength converters instead, which is
exactly what a transponder is. A transponder can be made up of two transceivers placed after each
other: the first transceiver converting the 1550 nm optical signal to/from an electrical signal, and the
second transceiver converting the electrical signal to/from an optical signal at the required
wavelength. Transponders that don't use an intermediate electrical signal (all-optical transponders)
are in development.
See also transponders (optical communications) for different functional views on the meaning of
optical transponders.

Implementations[edit]
There are several simulation tools that can be used to design WDM systems.
Reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In fiberoptics, a reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM) is a form of optical add-

drop multiplexer that adds the ability to remotely switch traffic from awavelength-division
multiplexing (WDM) system at the wavelength layer. This is achieved through the use of
a wavelength selective switching module. This allows individual or multiple wavelengths carrying
data channels to be added and/or dropped from a transport fiber without the need to convert the
signals on all of the WDM channels to electronic signals and back again to optical signals.
The main advantages of the ROADM are:

 The planning of entire bandwidth assignment need not be carried out during initial deployment of
a system. The configuration can be done as and when required without affecting traffic already
passing the ROADM.
 ROADM allows for remote configuration and reconfiguration.
 In ROADM, as it is not clear beforehand where a signal can be potentially routed, there is a
necessity of power balancing of these signals. ROADMs allow for automatic power balancing.
ROADM functionality originally appeared in long-haul dense wavelength division
multiplexing (DWDM) equipment, but by 2005, it began to appear in metro optical systems because
of the need to build out major metropolitan networks in order to deal with the traffic driven by the
increasing demand for packet-based services.
The switching or reconfiguration functions of a ROADM can be achieved using a variety of switching
technologies including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), liquid crystal, thermo optic and
beam-steering switches in planar waveguide circuits, and tunable optical filter technology.