OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND DISPERSION COMPENSATION METHOD

Abstract

An optical communication system according to the present invention cancels waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion by extracting the spectrum of a transmitted optical signal and passing the optical signal to a fiber having a dispersion value opposite to a dispersion amount corresponding to a transmission distance received by the spectrum component and compensates for a transmission path loss due to the fiber having the opposite dispersion value using optical splitters having different split ratios. With this configuration, the present invention can compensate for waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion by a simple method in an access network and achieve an increase in the reachable transmission distance of the farthest user or an increase in the number of connectable users.

Claims

1. An optical communication system including a dispersion compensation module, the dispersion compensation module includes a dispersion compensation optical fiber and an asymmetrical optical splitter, wherein the dispersion compensation optical fiber has a negative dispersion value in an anomalous dispersion region corresponding to a longer wavelength side than a zero-dispersion wavelength of a transmission optical fiber disposed between an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and an ONU (Optical Network Unit), the asymmetrical optical splitter includes: one merge port to which the dispersion compensation optical fiber is connected; N split ports (N is an integer of 2 or more) to which an optical network including one or a plurality of the ONUs is connected; and N-1 split portions that split light from two first ports on the merge port side to two second ports on the split port side at a predetermined split ratio, the split portions are connected so that one of the second ports is connected to one of the split ports and the other of the second ports is connected to one of the first ports of the split portion of a next stage, and the split portion of a first stage of the split portions has one of the first ports connected to the merge port, and the split portion of a final stage has the second ports connected to the split port.

2. The optical communication system according to claim 1, wherein the OLT is connected to the merge port of the asymmetrical optical splitter, one terminal of the transmission optical fiber is connected to the split port to which one of the second ports of the split portion of the first stage of the split ports of the asymmetrical optical splitter is connected, and the other terminal of the transmission optical fiber is connected to the optical network.

3. The optical communication system according to claim 2, further comprising a spectrum monitor connected to the other first port of the split portion of the first stage to observe a spectrum of an uplink signal from the ONU.

4. The optical communication system according to claim 1, wherein the OLT is connected to the merge port of the asymmetrical optical splitter via the transmission optical fiber, and the optical network is connected to the split port to which one of the second ports of the split portion of the first stage of the split ports of the asymmetrical optical splitter is connected.

5. A dispersion compensation method for compensating for wavelength dispersion of a transmission optical fiber disposed between an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and an ONU (Optical Network Unit), comprising: connecting a dispersion compensation module to the OLT side or the ONU side of the transmission optical fiber, wherein the dispersion compensation module includes a dispersion compensation optical fiber and an asymmetrical optical splitter, the dispersion compensation optical fiber has a negative dispersion value in an anomalous dispersion region corresponding to a longer wavelength side than a zero-dispersion wavelength of a transmission optical fiber disposed between an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and an ONU (Optical Network Unit), the asymmetrical optical splitter includes: one merge port to which the dispersion compensation optical fiber is connected; N split ports (N is an integer of 2 or more) to which an optical network including one or a plurality of the ONUs is connected; and N-1 split portions that split light from two first ports on the merge port side to two second ports on the split port side at a predetermined split ratio, the split portions are connected so that one of the second ports is connected to one of the split ports and the other of the second ports is connected to one of the first ports of the split portion of a next stage, and the split portion of a first stage of the split portions has one of the first ports connected to the merge port, and the split portion of a final stage has the second ports connected to the split port.

6. The dispersion compensation method according to claim 5, wherein the OLT is connected to the merge port of the asymmetrical optical splitter, one terminal of the transmission optical fiber is connected to the split port to which one of the second ports of the split portion of the first stage of the split ports of the asymmetrical optical splitter is connected, and the other terminal of the transmission optical fiber is connected to the optical network.

7. The dispersion compensation method according to claim 6, further comprising connecting a spectrum monitor to the other first port of the split portion of the first stage to observe a spectrum of an uplink signal from the ONU.

8. The dispersion compensation method according to claim 5, wherein the OLT is connected to the merge port of the asymmetrical optical splitter via the transmission optical fiber, and the optical network is connected to the split port to which one of the second ports of the split portion of the first stage of the split ports of the asymmetrical optical splitter is connected.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system according to the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an asymmetrical optical splitter of an optical communication system according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an observation waveform on a spectrum monitor.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating dispersion curves of SMF and DSF.

[0034] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system according to the present invention.

[0035] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an observation waveform on a spectrum monitor.

[0036] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system according to the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an asymmetrical optical splitter of an optical communication system according to the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a related optical communication system.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0039] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the components having the same reference numerals in the present specification and the drawings indicate the same components.

First Embodiment

[0040] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system 301 of the present embodiment. The optical communication system 301 includes a dispersion compensation module 105. The dispersion compensation module 105 includes a dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 and an asymmetrical optical splitter 107.

[0041] The dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 has a negative dispersion value in an anomalous dispersion region corresponding to a longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength of a transmission optical fiber 109 arranged between an OLT 101 and an ONU 111.

[0042] The structure of an asymmetrical optical splitter is shown in FIG. 8.

[0043] The asymmetrical optical splitter 207 includes one merge port P.sub.M1 to which the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 is connected, N (N is an integer of 2 or more) split port P.sub.Dn (n is an integer of 1 or more and N or less) to which an optical network 150 including one or a plurality of ONUs 111 is connected, and N-1 split portions 130 that split light from two first ports T1 on the merge port P.sub.M1 side to two second ports T2 on the split port P.sub.Dn side at a predetermined split ratio. The split portion 130 connects one of the second ports T2 to any one of the split ports P.sub.Dn, and connects the other of the second port T2 to one of the first ports T1 of the split portion 130 of the next stage. A split portion 130-1 of the first stage of the split portion 130 connects one of the first ports T1 to the merge port P.sub.M1, and a split portion 130-N-1 of the final stage connects the second ports T2 to split ports (P.sub.DN-1, P.sub.DN), respectively.

[0044] Further, each of the split portions 130 may include a communication terminal 119 to which an instruction from the outside is input, and a variable mechanism 116 that changes a split ratio of light from the first port T1 to the respective second ports T2 according to the signal input to the communication terminal 119. Each of the variable mechanisms 116 varies the split ratios (X.sub.1 to X.sub.N-1) of the split portions (130-1 to 130-N-1) by changing the distances (L.sub.1 to L.sub.1-N) between two waveguides. The asymmetrical optical splitter 207 can update the split ratio afterwards.

[0045] In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 with N=4 in FIG. 2 will be described.

[0046] In the optical communication system 301, the OLT 101 is connected to the merge port P.sub.M1 of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107, one terminal of the transmission optical fiber 109 is connected to the split port P.sub.D1 to which one of the second ports T2 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage of the split port P.sub.Dn of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 is connected, and the other terminal of the transmission optical fiber 109 is connected to the optical network 150.

[0047] The optical communication system 301 further includes a spectrum monitor 108 which is connected to the other first port T1 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage to observe the spectrum of an uplink signal from the ONU 111.

[0048] The optical communication system 301 is a double-star type PON system, and is different from the conventional PON system in that it includes the dispersion compensation module 105 and the spectrum monitor 108 for monitoring the spectrum of the uplink signal from the ONU. The dispersion compensation module 105 includes the optical fiber 106 having a negative dispersion value in an anomalous dispersion region on the longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength of the transmission optical fiber 109, and the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 having a split ratio for alleviating the transmission path loss of the optical fiber 106. The transmission optical fiber 109 is a single mode optical fiber (SMF).

[0049] The optical splitter is roughly classified into a fiber-type optical splitter in which a plurality of optical fiber cores are fusion-stretched so that the light confinement effect in the core is weakened and light is coupled to adjacent fibers, and a waveguide-type optical splitter in which an optical circuit is formed using the semiconductor process technology such as photolithography on a quartz glass, a silicon substrate, or the like. In the present embodiment, in order to help understanding of the invention, the optical fiber-type 4-split asymmetrical optical splitter 107 in which the asymmetric structure as shown in FIG. 2 is uniquely determined is used.

[0050] The split ratios of the split portions (130-1, 130-2, 130-3) of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 are X %, Y %, and Z %, respectively.

[0051] In FIG. 1, 100 indicates a communication station building, 101 indicates an OLT (Optical Line Terminal) installed in the communication station building 100, 102 indicates an optical transmitter that transmits downlink signals, 103 indicates an optical receiver that receives uplink signals, 104 indicates a transmission/reception separation filter for realizing single-core bidirectional communication, 109 indicates a transmission optical fiber, 110 indicates an N-split symmetrical optical splitter, 111 indicates an ONU (Optical Network Unit) installed in the user's house, 112 indicates an optical transmitter (LD is a Fabry-Perot-LD) that transmits uplink signals, 113 indicates an optical receiver that receives downlink signals, and 114 indicates a transmission/reception separation filter for realizing single-core bidirectional communication.

[0052] In FIG. 1, the optical network 150 has a configuration in which the ONU 111 and the transmission optical fiber 109 are connected via the symmetrical optical splitter 110, but the ONU 111 may be directly connected to the transmission optical fiber 109.

[0053] Hereinafter, a dispersion compensation method will be described.

[0054] FIG. 3 shows an oscillation spectrum of a typical FP-LD, and it can be seen that it oscillates at a plurality of wavelengths over several tens of nm. The spectrum shown in FIG. 3 can be observed when the uplink signal from the FP-LD112 is passed to the N-split symmetrical optical splitter 110 and the transmission optical fiber 109 and the uplink signal from a specific port (for example, the port P.sub.M2 in FIG. 2) of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 is observed by the spectrum monitor 108. Examples of the spectrum monitor include a spectrum analyzer.

[0055] Further, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the wavelength dependence of the dispersion amount of the transmission optical fiber 109 which is SMF and the wavelength dependence of the dispersion amount of the optical fiber 106 (in FIG. 4, a dispersion-shifted fiber: DSF) having a negative dispersion value in an anomalous dispersion region on the longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength of the SMF. When the result of the analysis of the spectrum monitor 108 shows that the center wavelength is 1330 nm as shown in FIG. 3, the amount of dispersion received by transmission per 1 km of SMF is determined from the dispersion curve of FIG. 4 (here, 2 [ps/nm/km]). The connected ONU and OLT can calculate the transmission distance from the RTT (Round Trip Time) using the range function of the PON, and the amount of dispersion received when the uplink signal from the ONU 111 arrives at the OLT can be calculated. For example, when the distance between the OLT and the ONU 111 is 18 km, the amount of dispersion received by the uplink signal of the ONU 111 when arriving at the OLT is uniquely determined as 2 [ps/nm/km]×18 [km]=+36 [ps/nm].

[0056] Next, since the optical fiber 106 (dispersion-shifted fiber: DSF in FIG. 4) having a negative dispersion value in the anomalous dispersion region on the longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength of the SMF has a dispersion amount of −18 [ps/nm/km] at 1330 nm from FIG. 4, when a DSF of 2 km is prepared, a dispersion amount of −18 [ps/nm/km]×2 [km]=−36 [ps/nm] is obtained.

[0057] In the above description, the dispersion compensation method for the center wavelength analyzed by the spectrum monitor has been performed. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the same applies even when the output light intensity that is A dB smaller from the peak of the light intensity at the center wavelength is defined, and the range of the light intensity or more is defined as the spectrum width. In this case, the optical fiber 106 having a dispersion amount opposite to the dispersion amount received by the transmission optical fiber 109 with respect to the spectrum on the long wavelength side (1335 nm in FIG. 3) may be calculated by the method described above. In this way, by extracting the spectrum of the transmitted optical signal and passing the optical signal through an optical fiber having a dispersion value opposite to the dispersion amount corresponding to the transmission distance received by the spectrum component, the waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion can be cancelled by a simple method.

[0058] However, in this case, a transmission path loss will occur since the optical signal passes through the optical fiber 106 (in FIG. 4, dispersion-shifted fiber: DSF) having a negative dispersion value in the anomalous dispersion region corresponding to the longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength of SMF. In order to compensate for this transmission path loss, the optical communication system 301 uses the asymmetrical optical splitter 107.

[0059] Generally, an optical splitter used in a passive double-star PON system is a symmetrical optical splitter with a split ratio of 50%. FIG. 9(A) is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system 300 including a general symmetrical optical splitter (4-split) 107R. FIG. 9(B) is a diagram illustrating the symmetrical optical splitter 107R. The symmetrical optical splitter 107R connects the split portion 130 having a split ratio of 50% as shown in FIG. 9(B). The split loss (split loss from the merge port P.sub.M1 to the split port P.sub.D1) of the symmetrical optical splitter 107R is about 7.5 dB.

[0060] On the other hand, when the split ratio of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 shown in FIG. 2 is X=60%, the split loss from the merge port P.sub.M1 to the split port P.sub.D1 is about 2.5 dB. In this way, using a specific port of the asymmetrical splitter (in the case of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107, the merge port P.sub.M1 and the split port P.sub.D1), a split loss of about 5 dB can be improved from the symmetrical optical splitter 107R.

[0061] Since the transmission path loss of the dispersion compensation optical fiber (DSF) 106 in the wavelength band is about 0.5 dB/km, the transmission path loss received by the DSF transmission of 2 km is about 0.5 [dB/km]×2 [km]=1 dB. Therefore, the transmission loss can be canceled by the improvement of the split loss caused by replacing the optical splitter from the symmetrical optical splitter 107R to the asymmetrical optical splitter 107. The length of the transmission optical fiber 109 can be extended by the remaining split loss improvement (5 dB−1 dB=4 dB).

[0062] In this way, the optical transmission system 301 can cancel waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion by extracting the spectrum of a transmitted optical signal and passing the optical signal through an optical fiber having a dispersion value opposite to a dispersion amount corresponding to a transmission distance received by the spectrum component and cancel a transmission path loss corresponding to the optical fiber by arranging optical splitters which are passive components and have different split configurations and different split ratios.

Second Embodiment

[0063] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system 302 of the present embodiment. The difference between the optical communication system 302 and the optical communication system 301 of FIG. 1 is that a plurality of ONUs (111, 200, and 201) is connected under an N-split symmetrical optical splitter 110 in an optical network 150. In a PON system, the oscillation wavelengths (frequencies) of ONUs operate asynchronously, and each ONU oscillates within a specified wavelength range (for example, 1260 nm to 1360 nm in the IEEE802.3 standard, which is the standard of the GE-PON system). A multiplexing method called TDMA (Time-Division Multiple Access) is adopted for the uplink signal of the PON, and the transmission time is controlled on the OLT side so that the signals from each ONU do not collide at the time of merging in the splitter.

[0064] When the uplink signal from each ONU is observed by the spectrum monitor 108 via the asymmetrical optical splitter 107, the uplink signal is displayed as a plurality of superimposed spectra as shown in FIG. 6. In such a case, the center wavelength is calculated regarding the envelope of the superposed spectra as one spectrum. Then, a light intensity that is B dB smaller than the peak of the light intensity at the center wavelength is defined, and the range of the light intensity or more is defined as the spectrum width. Using this spectrum width, the dispersion amount of the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 is calculated by the method described in the first embodiment. In this case, for the spectrum on the long wavelength side (1342 nm in FIG. 6), the optical fiber 106 having a dispersion amount opposite to the dispersion amount received by the transmission optical fiber 109 may be calculated as described in the first embodiment.

[0065] Compensation for the transmission path loss due to the passage through the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 (in FIG. 5, dispersion-shifted fiber: DSF) is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0066] In this way, the optical transmission system 302 can cancel waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion by extracting the spectrum of a transmitted optical signal and passing the optical signal through an optical fiber having a dispersion value opposite to a dispersion amount corresponding to a transmission distance received by the spectrum component and cancel a transmission path loss corresponding to the optical fiber by arranging optical splitters which are passive components and have different split configurations and different split ratios.

Third Embodiment

[0067] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an optical communication system 303 of the present embodiment. In the optical communication system 303, the OLT 101 is connected to the merge port of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 via the transmission optical fiber 109, and the optical network 150 is connected to the split port P.sub.D1 to which one of the second ports T2 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage of the split port P.sub.Dn of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 is connected.

[0068] In FIG. 7, the optical network 150 is configured to connect the ONU 111 and the split port P.sub.D1 of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 via the symmetrical optical splitter 110, but the ONU 111 may be directly connected to the split port P.sub.D1 of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107.

[0069] The difference between the optical communication system 303 and the optical communication system 301 of the first embodiment and the optical communication system 302 of the second embodiment is that the spectrum monitor 108 is eliminated and the dispersion compensation module 105 is installed in the communication station building 300. Such a situation may occur when the OLT in the communication station building 300 is integrated into the parent communication station building 100 in order to improve the accommodation rate.

[0070] As described above, the longer wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength (about 1.31 μm) of SMF is called an anomalous dispersion region, and optical transmission in this region incurs waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion. On the other hand, the shorter wavelength side than the zero-dispersion wavelength is called a normal dispersion region. It is known that the optical transmission in this region proceeds at a slow group velocity at the rising edge of a pulse and at a high group velocity at the falling edge of a pulse, resulting in pulse compression and improvement in transmission quality.

[0071] Therefore, the advantage of the optical communication system 303 is that the uplink transmission quality is improved using the pulse compression. That is, the optical communication system 303 does not cancel the waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion via a dispersion compensation optical fiber having an opposite dispersion value equivalent to the dispersion amount corresponding to the transmission distance received by the spectrum component. The optical communication system 303 first passes an upstream optical signal from the ONU 111 through the optical fiber 106 so as to have a negative dispersion value, and then transmits the signal through the transmission optical fiber 109 so that the transmission quality is improved using pulse compression.

[0072] The fiber length (1 km) of the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 can be calculated from the dispersion value on the longest wavelength side determined in the specifications and the length of the transmission optical fiber 109. Specifically, when the longest wavelength determined by the specifications is 1360 nm specified by IEEE802.3 standard, which is the standard of the GE-PON system, the dispersion value of SMF at that wavelength is 5 [ps/nm/km] from FIG. 4, and the dispersion value of the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 (DSF) is −15 [ps/nm/km]. If the length of the transmission optical fiber 109 is L km, the fiber length can be uniquely determined by solving 5 [ps/nm/km]×L [km]=−15 [ps/nm/km]×1 [km]. For example, if L=20 km, then 1=6.7 km.

[0073] Compensating for the transmission path loss due to the insertion of the dispersion compensation optical fiber 106 using the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 is the same as that described in the first and second embodiments.

[0074] In this way, the optical transmission system 303 can cancel waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion and improve the transmission quality due to a pulse compression effect by passing an optical signal through an optical fiber having a dispersion value opposite to a dispersion amount corresponding to a transmission distance received by a spectrum component on the longest wavelength side in a wavelength range of a transmission path and cancel a transmission path loss corresponding to the optical fiber by arranging optical splitters which are passive components and have different split configurations and different split ratios.

Other Embodiments

[0075] In the above embodiments, for the sake of simplicity, the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 having a 4-split configuration has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. A similar effect can be obtained with an N-split (N is an integer of 2 or more) asymmetrical optical splitter 207 as shown in FIG. 8. The N-split asymmetrical optical splitter 207 has a bead string configuration in which one of second ports T2 of an n-th split portion 130-n (n is an integer of 1 to N) is connected to one of first ports T1 of an (n+1)th split portion 130-n+1. With this configuration, the asymmetrical optical splitter 207 has a configuration in which the correspondence between the split portion 130 and the split port P.sub.D is uniquely determined.

Dispersion Compensation Method

[0076] In the method of the present invention, in order to compensate for the wavelength dispersion of a transmission optical fiber, the dispersion compensation module 105 is connected to the OLT 101 side or the ONU 111 side of the transmission optical fiber 109.

[0077] In the method of the present invention, the OLT 101 is connected to the merge port P.sub.M1 of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107, one terminal of the transmission optical fiber 109 is connected to the split port P.sub.D1 to which one of the second ports T2 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage of the split ports P.sub.D of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 is connected, and the other terminal of the transmission optical fiber 109 is connected to the optical network 150.

[0078] In this case, the spectrum monitor 108 may be connected to the other first port T1 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage, and the spectrum of the uplink signal from the ONU 111 may be observed.

[0079] In the method of the present invention, the OLT 101 is connected to the merge port P.sub.M1 of the asymmetrical optical splitter 107 via the transmission optical fiber 109, and the optical network 150 is connected to the split port P.sub.D1 to which one of the second ports T2 of the split portion 130-1 of the first stage of the split port P.sub.D of the asymmetrical optical splitter 109 is connected.

[0080] The method of the present invention can compensate for waveform distortion due to wavelength dispersion by a simple method (passive component) in an access network and achieve an increase in the reachable transmission distance of the farthest user or an increase in the number of connectable users.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0081] 100 Communication station building [0082] 101 OLT (Optical Line Terminal) [0083] 102 Optical transmitter that transmits downlink signals [0084] 103 Optical receiver that receives uplink signals [0085] 104 Transmission/reception separation filter for realizing single-core bidirectional communication [0086] 105 Dispersion compensation module [0087] 106 Dispersion compensation optical fiber [0088] 107, 207 Asymmetrical optical splitter [0089] 107R Symmetrical optical splitter [0090] 108 Spectrum monitor [0091] 109 Transmission optical fiber [0092] 110 N-split symmetrical optical splitter [0093] 111, 200, 201 ONU (Optical Network Unit) [0094] 112 Optical transmitter that transmits uplink signals [0095] 113 Optical receiver that receives downlink signals [0096] 114 Transmission/reception separation filter for realizing single-core bidirectional communication [0097] 116 Variable mechanism [0098] 119 Communication terminal [0099] 130, 130-1, . . . , 130-n, . . . , 130-N-1 Split portion [0100] 300 to 303 Optical communication system