Abstract
The usable transmission bandwidth of a single-mode optical fiber is enormous (as much as 50,000 GHz). Existing systems barely scratch the surface of this vast untapped resource. We propose a novel scheme for a local fiber-optic communications network that supports tens of thousands of simultaneous users, each requiring a several Mb/s continuous data rate. The system uses coherent optical techniques1 to exploit the vast fiber bandwidth. A spread-spectrum technique2 is used to circumvent the problems caused by the instabilities of present-day semiconductor lasers, e.g., the difficulty in reliably setting a laser's frequency with an accuracy better than several hundred gigahertz. Another mitigated problem is phase noise in the laser output.3 which would otherwise result in excessive amounts of interference among the various users.
© 1987 Optical Society of America
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