Optical fiber-based wireless systems and related components and methods are disclosed. The systems support radio frequency (RF) communications with clients over optical fiber, including Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) communications. The systems may be provided as part of an indoor distributed antenna system (IDAS) to provide wireless communication services to clients inside a building or other facility. The systems incorporate various functions, such as optical network terminal (ONT), splitter, and local powering, in antenna coverage areas.

A laser light generator is configured to generate one or more wavelengths of continuous wave laser light. The laser light generator is configured to collectively and simultaneously transmit each of the wavelengths of continuous wave laser light through an optical output of the laser light generator as a laser light supply. An optical fiber is connected to receive the laser light supply from the optical output of the laser light generator. An optical distribution network has an optical input connected to receive the laser light supply from the optical fiber. The optical distribution network is configured to transmit the laser light supply to each of one or more optical transceivers and/or optical sensors. The laser light generator is physically separate from each of the one or more optical transceivers and/or optical sensors.

The present invention discloses a passive optical network communications method: reporting, by an optical network unit, ONU, a calibration record of the ONU, where the calibration record includes an ID of a calibrated wavelength channel; sending a first message to the ONU when the OLT determines, according to the calibration record, that a target wavelength channel ID corresponding to a target wavelength channel to which the ONU needs to switch is not in the calibration record, where the first message includes a forced wavelength switching flag; and instructing the ONU to switch to the calibrated target wavelength channel. In this way, the ONU can implement wavelength switching quickly after calibrating a new wavelength channel so as to perform data communication over the calibrated new wavelength channel.

A carrier office includes an optical line terminal, a first transmit-erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), and a second transmit-EDFA. The OLT is configured to transmit first and second optical signals. The first transmit-EDFA is optically coupled to the OLT and a first feeder fiber, and the first feeder fiber is optically coupled to a first remote node (RN). The first transmit-EDFA is operable between a respective enabled state and a respective disabled state. The second transmit-EDFA is optically coupled to the OLT and a second feeder fiber, and the second feeder fiber is optically coupled to a second RN. The second transmit-EDFA is operable between a respective enabled state and a respective disabled state.

Example embodiments of a time division duplex (TDD) Wavelength Division Multiplex Passive Optical Network (WDM PON) architecture using passive optical splitters are disclosed herein. The disclosed TDD WDM PON includes fixed wavelength optical transmitters in an Optical Line Termination system with tunable receiver colorless Optical Network Units (ONUs) that reuse the downstream CW light to carry upstream data. The same wavelength may be used for downstream and upstream transmissions on a single fiber in the ODN. In this architecture, the number of ONUs may be greater than the number of transmitters at the OLT, allowing for a highly scalable system with capacity for growth. An example embodiment of the disclosed system uses Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) or WDM filters at the OLT and a passive optical splitter in the field.

A coherent passive optical network includes a downstream transceiver and first and second upstream transceivers in communication with an optical transport medium. The downstream transceiver includes a downstream processor for mapping a downstream data stream to a plurality of sub-bands, and a downstream transmitter for transmitting a downstream optical signal modulated with the plurality of sub-bands. The first upstream transceiver includes a first local oscillator (LO) for tuning a first LO center frequency to a first sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands, and a first downstream receiver for coherently detecting the downstream optical signal within the first sub-band. The second upstream transceiver includes a second downstream receiver configured for coherently detecting the downstream optical signal within a second sub-band of the plurality of sub-bands. The downstream processor dynamically allocates the first and second sub-bands to the first and second transceivers in the time and frequency domains.

A carrier office includes an optical line terminal, a first transmit-erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), and a second transmit-EDFA. The OLT is configured to transmit first and second optical signals. The first transmit-EDFA is optically coupled to the OLT and a first feeder fiber, and the first feeder fiber is optically coupled to a first remote node (RN). The first transmit-EDFA is operable between a respective enabled state and a respective disabled state. The second transmit-EDFA is optically coupled to the OLT and a second feeder fiber, and the second feeder fiber is optically coupled to a second RN. The second transmit-EDFA is operable between a respective enabled state and a respective disabled state.

In an automatically switched optical network operating according to a wavelength plan, the wavelengths are assigned to an optical path based on availability, performance and SRS wavelength coupling reduction. First, the wavelengths are grouped in static bins based on their reach versus cost performance, and each bin assumes a ?Q of a middle wavelength. Then, the bins are moved into subsets of dynamic bins, constructed using bin constraints that account for the particulars of the respective optical path. The path is characterized taking into account the wavelength currently accessing at the end nodes, and the wavelength tandeming through the end nodes. Wavelength selection starts with the bins that satisfy the maximum number of constraints, and the wavelengths are checked sequentially against wavelength constraints; relaxed constraints are also applied when it is not possible to exactly satisfy one or more constraints.

Techniques are described for indicating a wavelength at which a network interface device is configured to operate. A first controller circuit may determine a wavelength at which the network interface device is operating. The wavelength at which the network interface device is operating includes at least one of an optical wavelength at which a laser of the network interface device is transmitting optical data or an optical wavelength at which a photodiode of the network interface device is receiving optical data. A second controller circuit may cause the network interface device to output a sensory output that indicates the wavelength at which the network interface device is operating.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, for an external cavity FP laser. In one aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes a FP laser diode; a Faraday rotator (FR) coupled to receive an optical output of the FP laser diode and that rotates a polarization of the optical output; an optical fiber coupled at a first end to receive the output of the FR; a WDM filter coupled to a second end of the optical fiber to receive the optical signal from the optical fiber; and a FRM coupled directly or indirectly to an output of the WDM filter, wherein an optical output of the WDM filter is partially reflected by the FRM such that the polarization of a reflected beam is rotated, and wherein the reflected optical signal then passes through the FR with its polarization being rotated by the FR before it is injected back into the FP laser diode.