Fiber Optic Communications: Fundamentals and Applications

Preface

The field of fiber-optic communications has advanced significantly over the last three decades. In the early days, most of the fiber's usable bandwidth was significantly under-utilized as the transmission capacity was quite low and hence, there was no need to apply techniques developed in non-optical communication systems to improve the spectral efficiency. However, with the recent revival of coherent detection, high spectral efficiency can be realized using advanced modulation formats.

This book grew out of our notes for undergraduate and graduate courses on fiber-optic communications. Chapters 1 to 6 discuss, in depth, the physics and engineering applications of photonic and optoelectronic devices used in fiber-optic communication systems. Chapters 7 to 11 focus on transmission system design, various propagation impairments, and how to mitigate them.

Chapters 1 to 7 are intended for undergraduate students at the senior level or for an introductory graduate course. The sections with asterisks may be omitted for undergraduate teaching or they may be covered qualitatively without the rigorous analysis provided. Chapters 8 to 11 are intended for an advanced course on fiber-optic systems at the graduate level and also for researchers working in the field of fiber-optic communications. Throughout the book, most of the important results are obtained by first principles rather than citing research articles. Each chapter has many worked problems to help students understand ...