Broadband multichannel WDM transmission with superluminescent diodes and LEDs

The authors investigate the use of superluminescent diodes (SLDs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs) in broadband multichannel WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) transmission. This technique, known as spectral slicing, may afford important advantages over traditional laser-based WDM in many network applications. The authors describe three system demonstrations using combinations of SLDs, LEDs, and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers to achieve spectrally sliced transmission over 4 to 16 WDM channels at bit rates up to 155 Mb/s per channel. A generalized power-budget analysis of spectrally sliced transmission is then presented and compared with experimental results. The investigation quantifies key trade-offs in the design of spectrally sliced WDM networks, and identifies opportunities for extension and optimization of system performance