PDF of this tutorialAn intense, global effort is underway to build and operate broadband networks that will cost-effectively deliver greater network capacity at faster speeds and over longer distances. New data-intensive applications—ranging from peer-to-peer computing to storage area networks, and beyond—are driving seemingly insatiable demand for more bandwidth.
Optical networks are key to this vision. They offer massive scalable bandwidth, protocol and bit-rate independence, and the ability to launch and scale new services on demand. To deliver high-speed, wide-channel–count optical networks that meet escalating bandwidth requirements, communications network providers are looking for efficient new ways to overcome the problem of dispersion. This optics phenomenon, which becomes more severe as span lengths and bit rates increase, causes degradation of signals and transmission errors. Dispersion challenges, which include chromatic, slope mismatch, and polarization mode, must be solved in order to usher in the next generation of all-optical, fully meshed networks operating at OC–192, OC–768, and beyond.
In the quest for dispersion compensation solutions, DCMs hold significant promise in addressing the formidable challenges associated with multichannel, high-speed networks. Recent innovations with components such as fiber Bragg gratings, coupled with breakthrough developments in tunability and multichannel capabilities, are shining stars on the industry’s horizon.
