Effects of temperature on LED-based single-mode WDM systems for subscriber-loop applications

The authors consider the use of WDM in single-mode optical fibres, using LED sources, for subscriber loop applications. An important consideration for such applications is the effect of temperature on system performance, since critical components would be housed in roadside cabinets, where considerable temperature variations occur. It is clearly desirable to avoid the need for temperature control if at all possible. The authors focus on the effects of temperature on the WDM system under consideration, to determine the feasibility of this scheme in a practical environment. System performance is measured in terms of insertion loss and received optical power levels, and crosstalk between WDM channels, as functions of temperature