Objective
This project has proposed coherent multichannel (CMC) techniques for the realisation of ultra-wideband optical local area networks with multigigabit-per-second overall capacity. The UCOL workplan has addressed comprehensively optical component technologies as well as networking aspects of coherent multichannel concepts (eg topologies, access protocols, network management methods).
The project targets the enhanced performance and flexibility that can be built into a multichannel, ultrawideband network using coherent optical techniques. The system concept is based on multichannel optical transmission with heterodyne detection, where all optical channels are synchronized to an optical reference comb.
A key feature of the system concept is that the bandwidth and the optical frequency tuning facilities offered by coherent optics are conveniently exploited and used in an open systems interconnection (OSI) compatible context to achieve a network capable of connecting existing networks and of supporting new wideband services. The tuning characteristics of optical frequencies, in particular, enhance the flexibility of the network, and its ability to self reconfigure without physical changes facilitates its adaptation to future requirements. The advantages offered by the approach can be summarized as follows:
wide attainable bandwidth which may be extended;
use of a multichannel system with tuneable frequencies affords additional flexibility;
high receiver sensitivity;
optical amplifiers can be used.
Work has led to the production of the following practical integrated optical components and subsystems:
erbium doped fibre tunable narrow line laser (this provides the basic transmitter module in the system);
multiline source (based on a mode locked semiconductor external cavity laser, it generates a comb of optical spectral lines from which the channel carriers are synthesized);
active phase modulator and switch (based on a travelling wave semiconductor laser amplifier, it provides both phase modulation and switching);
balanced polarisation diversity differential phase shift keying (DPSK) (time division multiple access (TDMA)) receiver (this module is made up of 3 basic parts, a polarization diversity hybrid, a low nose preamplifier and a DPSK demodulator and signal regenerator);
tunable optical filter (a novel single mode fibre pigtailed Fab ry-Perot (FP) type filter was fabricated based on a reflection coated graded refractive index (GRIN) lens FP reasonator).
The well known advantages of frequency division multiplexing systems and the very efficient exploitation of the huge bandwidth offered by a single mode fibre are only accessible if the formidable technical problems (eg tuneable narrow-band lasers, carrier modulation/demodulation, polarisation diversity receiver) are solved in a cost effective way and the network management tasks can be handled.
At the physical layer the UCOL system approach is based on coherent multichannel transmission over a passive star network where all signal carriers are locked to a distributed optical reference comb. This very original approach together with the proposed access protocols and network management offer :
- high network capacity (multigigabit/second) required by the foreseeable future demand of integrated office and data communication equipment.
- high flexibility in terms of network capability to efficiently exploit the available bandwidth and to adequately support any type and quality of service.
- adoption of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) allowing for an easy interworking with public and local networks.
- future upgrading capability in terms of higher overall network capacity for the introduction of new services or higher service quality (eg HDTV).
- future network extension capability by means of optical amplifiers eg for an increase of the network radius towards Metropolitan-Area-Network (MAN) or Wide-Area-Network (WAN) applications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Programme(s)
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Coordinator
20158 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.