Vertical cavity surface emitting laser transmitters for energy efficient broadband access networks

The use of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) in energy efficient ONUs is critically examined using energy consumption models and numerical analyses of energy savings in sleep and doze mode operations. The implication of polling cycle times and network loads on the resulting energy savings and upstream utilization is investigated in the context of a 10 GE-PON with VCSEL ONUs, and for the first time, guidance on the tradeoffs between various network and protocol parameters is provided.