WDM PON based on spectrum-sliced fiber amplifier light source

Summary form only given. Wavelength-division multiplexing passive optical networks (WDM PONs) offer the potential of large capacity, network security, and upgradability. However, these networks require low-cost sources, and efficient routing at the central office (CO) and remote nodes (RN) for practical implementation. Proposed WDM PON architectures have used multifrequency lasers, super-luminescent diodes, or distributed feedback (DFB) laser arrays as WDM sources and most employ underutilized waveguide grating routers (WGR) for multiplexing and demultiplexing the upstream and downstream traffic. In this paper, we demonstrate a 15-channel WDM PON (downstream: 500 Mbit/s, upstream: 155 Mbit/s) using a spectrum-sliced fiber amplifier light source and a new architecture that requires only one, fully utilized WGR at the central office and one at the remote node for bi-directional communication.