Analysis of link architectures for multiwavelength (N×10 Gbit/s) transmission in terrestrial networks

Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) seems to be the most promising approach to achieve large throughput transmission over distances of a few hundred kilometers, and allows for optical networking functionalities. Several WDM transmission experiments over single mode fibre (SMF) were performed that showed very high throughput-distance products. The requirements on the stability of light sources, filters, and other optical components is such that a channel spacing of 200 GHz is emerging as a viable solution. We first investigate numerically the propagation of N×10 Gbit/s channels over SMF with dispersion management along the link. The channel separation is such that the entire band of fluoride-based EDFAs (EDFFAs), about 25 nm between 1536 and 1560 nm, is used in order to relax the requirements on optical components. The focus is on the impact of the dispersion map on the transmission performance. Finally, the results of a 16×10 Gbit/s dispersion-managed transmission experiment over more than 500 km of SMF, are compared to the theoretical findings