It R 3 Optical Photonic S

Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... III
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..........................................................................................................................V
1 INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................1
1.1 OBJECTIVE ......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 DRIVERS FOR NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS ....................................................................................... 2
1.3 CHALLENGES & BENEFITS FOR NETWORK OPERATORS ........................................................................................ 3
2 NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS.......................................................................................5
2.1 ATTRIBUTES OF THE DIFFERENT NETWORK SEGMENTS ........................................................................................ 5
2.1.1 Long-Haul Network................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1.2 Metropolitan Area Network........................................................................................................................ 7
2.1.3 Access Network ........................................................................................................................................ 8
2.2 OPTICAL NETWORK EVOLUTION ................................................................................................................. 8
2.2.1 SONET/SDH Networks .............................................................................................................................. 9
2.2.2 Architecture of Existing Optical Networks ................................................................................................. 10
2.2.3 Architecture of Next Generation Optical Network, Issues and Challenges .................................................... 13
2.3 STANDARD DEVELOPMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 18
2.3.1 ITU-T .................................................................................................................................................... 18
2.3.2 IETF ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
2.3.3 Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) and Automatic Switched Transport Network (ASTN) ................ 24
2.3.4 Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) ....................................................................................................... 26
2.3.5 Optical Domain Service Interconnect (ODSI) ............................................................................................ 27
2.3.6 IEEE Standard Development on Gigabit Ethernet & Resilient Packet Ring.................................................... 27
2.3.7 ITU Standards Development on Passive Optical Network (PON) ................................................................. 30
3 PHOTONICS ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES .......................................................................................35
3.1 OPTICAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES ............................................................................................... 37
3.1.1 DWDM................................................................................................................................................... 37
3.1.2 Soliton Transmission ............................................................................................................................... 40
3.1.3 Optical Regeneration .............................................................................................................................. 41
3.2 ACTIVE COMPONENTS & SUB-SYSTEMS ....................................................................................................... 42
3.2.1 Lasers ................................................................................................................................................... 42
3.2.2 Optical Ampliers ................................................................................................................................... 45
3.2.3 Optical Switching.................................................................................................................................... 48
3.3 PASSIVE COMPONENTS & SUB-SYSTEMS ...................................................................................................... 55
3.3.1 Connectors ............................................................................................................................................ 56
3.3.2 Dispersion Compensators ........................................................................................................................ 57
3.3.3 Optical Filters ......................................................................................................................................... 60
3.3.4 Optical Fibres ......................................................................................................................................... 58
3.4 ADVANCED OPTICAL & MEMS PACKAGING AND AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING ......................................................... 63
3.4.1 Optical-Electronic (OE) Integration........................................................................................................... 63
3.4.2 Thermal Solutions for Optical Components ............................................................................................... 65
3.4.3 Optical Packaging Materials ..................................................................................................................... 66
3.4.4 Optical Assembly and Reliability Testing ................................................................................................... 67
3.4.5 MEMS Packaging Issues and Challenges ................................................................................................... 68
4 SINGAPORE LANDSCAPE ................................................................................................................71
4.1 TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY ............................................................................................................... 71
4.2 RESEARCH COMMUNITY ......................................................................................................................... 73
4.3 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ........................................................................................................................ 74
5 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................79
ANNEX A. OPTICAL NETWORKING IN OTHER COUNTRIES................................................................83
A.1 CANADA ............................................................................................................................................. 83
A.2 CHINA ............................................................................................................................................... 84
A.3 EUROPE ............................................................................................................................................. 84
A.4 JAPAN ............................................................................................................................................... 86
A.5 KOREA .............................................................................................................................................. 86
A.6 USA ................................................................................................................................................ 86
ANNEX B. MAJOR SUBMARINE CABLE NETWORKS LINKING SINGAPORE ........................................89
ANNEX C. LOCAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS & CENTRES ..................................................................93
GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................................97
SURVEY FORM ..................................................................................................................................105
I n f o c o m m T e c h n o l o g y R o a d m a p R e l e a s e F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 2
NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS & PHOTONICS
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1. Multi-layer Structure of Existing Networks................................................................10

Figure 2. Evolution of Optical Networks in Long-Haul.............................................................16
Figure 3. Evolution of Optical Networks in MAN.....................................................................17
Figure 4. Layered Structure of OTN.....................................................................................20
Figure 5. Conceptual View of OTN.........................................................................................21
Figure 6. Digital Wrapper.....................................................................................................21
Figure 7. IETF Optical Internetwork Model............................................................................22
Figure 8. ASON/ASTN Global Architecture.............................................................................24
Figure 9. The Three Planes and Interfaces dened in ASON/ASTN Architecture.........................25
Figure 10. Timeline for 10-Gigabit Ethernet Standard................................................................28
Figure 11. Timeline for 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring.................................................................29
Figure 12. Timeline for Ethernet in the First Mile......................................................................32
Figure 13. Functional Block Diagram for Optical Communication Systems...................................35
Figure 14. Technology Classication.......................................................................................36
Figure 15. R&D & Commercialisation toward Higher Transmission Capacity.................................37
Figure 16. Development scenario of commercial WDM Systems.................................................39
Figure 17. Typical Fibre Attenuation Characteristics..................................................................60
Figure 18. Optical Assembly Time Requirement vs Alignment Tolerance.....................................67
Figure 19. Optical Product Vendors in Singapore......................................................................72
Table 1. ITU-T Recommendations for Optical Network...........................................................18

Table 2. Related Work-in-Progress ITU Recommendations......................................................24
Table 3. OIF Implementation Agreements on VSR................................................................25
Table 4. BPON Standards Development................................................................................30
Table 5. Types of Tunable Laser Technologies.......................................................................43
Table 6. The Changing Face of Switching Technologies.........................................................50
Table 7. Comparison between Optical Switching Technologies................................................53
Table 8. Market Players in Optical Switching........................................................................54
Table 9. Characteristic of Optical Fibre Types.......................................................................61
Table 10. Dening Optical Packaging Hierarchy and Levels of Interconnects..............................64
Table 11. Different Crystal Materials for Active Interconnects in Optical Systems........................66
Table 12. MEMS Packaging Methodology and Challenges........................................................69
ii
Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank the following organisations and individuals for their participation in
interviews and the drafting of Track 1: NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS AND PHOTONICS
of the 3rd Infocomm Technology Roadmap (ITR-3) report.
1. Dr Wong Woon Kwong Agency for Science, Technology And Research (A*STAR)
2. Mr Jasbir Singh Agency for Science, Technology And Research (A*STAR)
3. Dr Wang Wei Guo Alcatel
4. Mr Tham Wai Hoong Alcatel
5. Dr Ivan Tam Alcatel
6. Mr Wilson Toh Alcatel
7. Mr Daniel C. Hu Blue Sky Research
8. Dr Chak Leung Blue Sky Research
9. Mr Eddie Lim Blue Sky Systems
10. Dr Cheng Xiangyin Blue Sky Systems
11. Mr Ong Peng Chuan Bragg Photonics
12. Mr Richard Chan Bragg Photonics
13. Mr Rodney Kee Tien Yew Cisco Systems
14. Mr Yap Hak Huen Cisco Systems
15. Mr Jason Chia Economic Development Board (EDB)
16. Mr Low Wei Shing Economic Development Board (EDB)
17. Ms Cheryl Lim Economic Development Board (EDB)
18. Dr Fang Zhong Ping GINTIC Institute of Manufacturing Technology
19. Dr Wang Zhiping GINTIC Institute of Manufacturing Technology
20. Dr Lim Gnian Cher GINTIC Institute of Manufacturing Technology
21. Mr Lai Fook Ngian Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
22. Mr Ivan Au Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
23. Mr Ong Kian Lin Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
24. Mr Lua Eng Keong Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)
25. Dr Kripesh Vaidyanathan Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
26. Dr Krishnamachari Sudharsanam Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
27. Dr Mahadevan K. Iyer Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
28. Mr Teo Keng Hwa Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
29. Mr Yeo Yong Kee Institute of Microelectronics (IME)
30. Mr Sean Colon Intel
31. Dr Guo Lih Shiew Intel
32. Dr Ngoh Lek Heng Kent Ridge Digital Laboratories (KRDL)
33. Dr Cheng Heng Seng Kent Ridge Digital Laboratories (KRDL)
34. Ms R Vasudha Kent Ridge Digital Laboratories (KRDL)
35. Mr Erwin T. Filmer Lucent Technologies
36. Mr Pramod Kumar Jain Lucent Technologies
37. Mr Kapil Sharma Lucent Technologies
38. Mr Rob Bramall Marconi
39. A/P Cheng Tee Hiang Network Technology Research Centre (NTRC), NTU
40. A/P Lu Chao Network Technology Research Centre (NTRC), NTU
41. Mr Ng Chang Lung Nortel Networks
42. Mr Ramesh Kuppusamy Nortel Networks
43. Mr Tan Seow Nguan Singapore Telecommunications
44. Mr Arthur Cheong Starhub
45. Mr Tan Boon Huat Starhub
46. Mr Tiong Onn Seng Starhub
47. Mr Rizwan Khan Tellabs
48. Mr David Marks Thales Electro-Optics
49. Mr Chua Teow Tzing Thales Electro-Optics
50. Mr Troy Hetherington Thales Electro-Optics
iii
ITR-3 Roadmap Task Force:
IDA - Technology Direction
Mr Raymond Lee
Ms Lim Chay Yong
Mr Lim Yew Gee
Mr Adrian Ong
NTU - Network Technology Research Centre
A/P Cheng Tee Hiang

A/P Lu Chao
Dr Brian Chen
Chief Technology Ofcer
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
Important note: All market gures and market forecasts are quoted from leading analysts in this eld, readers
should note that there could be wide discrepancies between different analyst houses. However, our objective
is to give an approximate information on market sizes to complement this report, which above all should be
regarded as a technology trend report than a market forecast report. Readers should hence exercise caution in
interpreting these market gures.
The Info-Communications Development Authority of Singapore (“IDA”) makes no warranties as to

the suitability of use for any purpose whatsoever of any of the information, data, representations,
statements and/or any of the contents herein nor as to the accuracy or reliability of any sources
from which the same is derived (whether as credited or otherwise). IDA hereby expressly
disclaims any and all liability connected with or arising from use of the contents of this publication.
This report does not necessarily represent or contain the views of IDA nor the Government of the
Republic of Singapore and should not be cited or quoted as such.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Copyright (c) 2002 Info-Communications Development Authority of Singapore
iv
Executive Summary
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
REPORT STRUCTURE
The ways in which the world communicates are undergoing radical change. Driven by
information technology, carriers and service providers are demanding for higher capacity
and more intelligent networks that are simpler to operate and easier to manage. This has
placed new requirements on the existing communication infrastructures. Next Generation
Optical Networks and Photonics are envisaged to be two of the most compelling
technologies to meet these requirements for future communication architectures.
Many industry analysts and market research rms have collectively identied optical
networking and its plethora of optical component technologies as a high-growth sector.
However, the fast changing landscapes, the multidisciplinary nature of this technology area,
and sometimes conicting viewpoints expressed by leading industry experts have made it
difcult for one to have a good grasp of the technologies involved and their trends. By
reviewing and condensing the information and viewpoints obtained from various sources
and with our participants, we hope to paint a clearer collective vision of what the future
technology and standards would be. At the same time, we also aspire to provide hints for
possible strategic development areas that Singapore is seemingly lacking in.
This roadmap is targeted at the optical networking and photonics technology players based
locally and the would-be players from abroad, both in the private and public sectors. These
are, for example, technical and management staff of optical component manufacturers,
optical networking equipment vendors and telecommunication service providers; academia
and researchers in tertiary institutions and research institutes/centres; and policy makers
and executives responsible for manpower development, industry development and public
or private sector R&D spending. In addition, we hope the roadmap will enrich the minds
of general readers who may be interested in the development of photonics and optical
networking technology for business purposes, or simply for knowledge.
The report begins with dening the key driving forces that are shaping next generation
network architectures. In particular, demand for higher bandwidth and rapid growth of
data-centric networks are seen as key contributing factors fuelling the deployment of next
generation optical networks. Also, advances in photonics and network technologies have
resulted in better performance, exible and scalable networks with intelligent software for
network operation and management, making it more viable for carriers to deploy.
The second chapter of this track delineates the evolution towards next generation optical
networks vis-à-vis differing requirements and characteristics in long-haul, metropolitan and
access networks. We will place less emphasis on the “last mile” access network, as it was
covered in our rst Infocomm Technology Roadmap (ITR) report (Broadband Access
and Mobile Wireless, July 2000). An overview of current network architectures --
Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH) and Wavelength
Division Multiplexing (WDM), and their issues and challenges are described. We also
notice the rapid progress in the standardisation of optical networking in recent years.
Thus, we update on the proposals and work progress from standardisation bodies such as
the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineering (IEEE), Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), and Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF).
To realise next generation networks, photonics, packaging and fundamental material

technologies will play a vital role in their respective areas of applications. Therefore, in the
third chapter of this report, we present the development, issues and challenges in these
areas.
In the fourth chapter, we cover the Singapore landscape. We also provide a glimpse on
the various industry activities, the capability of local academic & research institutions, and
initiatives & support from government agencies.
The nal chapter summarises the report and concludes with some observations on possible
ways ahead for the local optical community and areas of strategic developments.
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS
The rapid advancements in optical networking technology, strong customer demand for
bandwidth, and shift in customer requirements have created market opportunities for
telecommunication equipment vendors to develop and offer piece-meal solutions to meet
the requirements of different carriers, service providers and market segments. Most of
these solutions, such as Packet over SONET (POS), IP/MPLS over ATM over SONET/SDH,
Multiservice Provisioning Platform (MSPP) etc, have actually helped to prolong the life span
of the legacy SONET/SDH systems. However, the industry is also not slow to recognise
the need to re-structure the optical network and to develop a platform that is more
suitable to take the full advantages of recent and anticipated technology breakthroughs and
changes in user requirements. It is clear no matter what form the next generation optical
network will take, IP and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) will be featured
prominently.
The introduction of Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) has profound importance
in the development of future optical networks. To protect the investment in network
segments which are not ASON-capable, the co-existence of existing transport networks with
ASON will be crucial for the success of this new networking paradigm.
STANDARDS PROGRESSION
Major efforts led by standardisation bodies such as ITU-T, IETF and IEEE and industry con-
sortiums such as OIF are actively involved in developing various aspects of optical transport
system and distributed control plane specications towards an intelligent, efcient and a
unied network architecture. These efforts will help to resolve interoperability issues, which
means that users are not locked onto proprietary equipment, thus greatly reducing their
investment risks.
ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES IN PHOTONICS
A typical optical communication system consists of network elements using photonic

components and subsystem technologies. Laser sources such as DBR, DFB, ECL or VCSEL
are commonly used to transmit data. The optical signal from each channel is then
directed into the wavelength multiplexer to be combined and sent onto the optical bre
for transmission across the network. Depending on distance, optical ampliers (such as
EDFA or Raman ampliers) are used along the path to regenerate the lightwaves. Signal
vi
enhancement devices (such as dispersion compensators) are also used to condition the
lightwaves. At the demultiplexer, the signal is broken into individual channels and parsed
out to each optical detector at the receiving end. Optical Cross-connect (OXC) and Optical
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Add Drop Multiplexer (OADM) are used within the network to switch trafc, insert and drop
off wavelengths at the edge. Optical switching today is accomplished through technologies
such as MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), liquid crystal switch, bubble switch and
grating technologies. These technologies are beginning to enable commercial deployment
of advanced and intelligent photonic transparent switches without optical-electronic-optical
conversions, making networks more efcient and easier to manage.
The availability of advanced photonic components and subsystems is viewed as an

important milestone in the deployment of next generation optical networks for many
carriers. Their recent developments have been particularly strong as seen from the
intense research and activities that are currently ongoing in the academic and corporate
laboratories worldwide. Much research is now focusing on developing technologies that
could increase the data transmission rate & optical bandwidth, achieving closer channel
spacing and higher spectral efciency.
Today, the state-of-the-art photonic systems are lled with technological breakthroughs in
many areas; from a wide array of fundamental material technologies; to a list of innovative
techniques in component design, subsystem architecture and simulation modelling. Whilst
such optical components are technologically advanced, their manufacturing most often
remains labour intensive due to the lack of automation and process optimisation, for
example in areas of component assembly, bre attachment, packaging, and testing.
We envisage some important areas of development in the near term are towards the
standardisation of component form factors, automated assembly & packaging (design for
manufacturability for high yield, high volume, low cost), multi-chip module integration, as
well as developing optical components of higher reliability.
vii
1.1 OBJECTIVE
viii
1 Introduction
INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECTIVE
Worldwide technology and standards summary. Optical networking and its enabling
optical component technologies have collectively been identied as a high-growth sector
by many industry analysts and market research rms. It is a sector that has already
contributed strongly to the economies of a number of countries and would be capitalised
by more to propel their economic growth. A key objective of this roadmap report is to
provide a good overview of past and future developments worldwide, the efforts of key
standardisation bodies and industrial forums in developing relevant standards, and key
trends of technologies that are likely to impact this industry.
Collective vision and alignment of resources. The fast changing landscapes, the
multidisciplinary nature of this technology area, and sometimes conicting viewpoints
expressed by leading industry experts have made it difcult for one to have a good grasp
of the technologies involved and their trends. By reviewing and condensing the information
and viewpoints obtained from various sources and with our participants, we hope to paint a
clearer collective vision of what the future technology and standards would be. At the same
time, we provide hints into possible strategic development areas that Singapore is seemingly
lacking in. The compilation of this roadmap is a joint effort between government bodies,
industry, and academic and research community. Apart from being a useful reference for
individuals and individual organisations, we hope the information contained herein will allow
the existing and potential local players to identify synergies and complementary expertise
so that they could pool their resources or leverage on others’ strengths to ride the optical
wave. We also hope that the process of its compilation, the symposium organised for
its release and other activities that would follow will energise the local community into
generating a critical mass of R&D and economic activities that will yield the maximum
benet for Singapore.
The target audience. This roadmap is targeted at the optical networking and photonics
technology players based locally and the would-be players from abroad, both in the private
and public sectors. These are, for example, technical and management staff of optical
component manufacturers, optical networking equipment vendors and telecommunication
service providers; academia and researchers in tertiary institutions and research institutes/
centres; and policy makers and executives responsible for manpower development, industry
development and public or private sector R&D spending. In addition, we hope the roadmap
will enrich the minds of general readers who may be interested in the development
of photonics and optical networking technology for business purposes, or simply for
knowledge. As major foreign markets such as USA and China embrace the photonics and
optical networking industry in full force, it is relevant for Singaporeans to be aware of and
be updated on the technology development and industry trends in this area.
1.2 DRIVERS FOR NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS
1.2 DRIVERS FOR NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS
Huge and insatiable demand for bandwidth. According to Ovum Consulting in the
August 1999 report “The Bandwidth Explosion,” the total Internet trafc volume is projected
to grow rapidly from 125Gb/s in 1999 to 6.9Tb/s in 2005. The growth in the data trafc is
primarily in new business applications such as e-commerce, high quality videoconferencing,
web services and peer-to-peer computing. The demand drivers in the form of high speed
data services such as Storage Area Networks (SANs), Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP)
services, growth of 3G mobile networks and Grid Computing will also push the market into
a critical mass creating a virtuous cycle of demand and supply in bandwidth. Adding to the
volume of trafc in the internet is the growing deployment of high-speed broadband ADSL,
cable modems and home networking technologies for high-bandwidth applications, such
as broadband multimedia, video-on-demand and IP telephony. No other technology on the
horizon could meet such a demand except wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), which
allows multiple channels to be carried on a single bre using different wavelengths and
thus allow manifold increase in data capacity at fractional cost. The bandwidth explosion
is driving the R&D activity of the WDM optical networking technology targeting towards
petabit network capacity.
SONET/SDH not able to meet new demands in data-centric networks. Synchronous

Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) standards were set
up for the transmission of Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) digital signals, usually voice
trafc over bre in the 1980s. Using TDM, a data stream at a higher bit rate is generated
by multiplexing together lower bit rate channels. High-capacity SONET/SDH systems now
operate at levels up to 10Gb/s (OC-192). The growing trend of data trafc is now posing
technical challenges not only in terms of volumes but also related to the bursty and
asymmetrical nature of such trafc. The manual provisioning of SONET/SDH networks has
also been too tedious and operationally inefcient for many carriers.
Advances in photonics bring about new possibilities. Intense development in optical

technologies in recent years has resulted in more reliable, better and lower cost optical
components and subsystems. For example, more advanced subsystems such as optical add/
drop multiplexers (OADMs) and optical cross connect (OXCs) allow individual wavelengths
to be selectively routed, added or dropped under software control, thus introducing a
new dimension in improving network performance. At the same time, the increased port
counts and better design of OADMs and OXCs will permit greater scalability in future optical
networks. Such advances coupled with the increase in capacity of bre using WDM make
the deployment of optical networks more viable for the carriers.
1.3 CHALLENGES & BENEFITS FOR NETWORK OPERATORS
INTRODUCTION
Today, network operators are nding new ways to create revenue, reduce costs of
network management & operation with the aim to deliver services as fast as possible
to customers. They therefore need intelligent networks to support a fast, secure service
creation and service delivery across a variety of network topologies. A single seat end-to-
end management across the data and optical network layers is highly desirable.
Interoperability of optical networking equipment between different vendor products is

identied as an important challenge as it is usually difcult to deploy products from multi-
vendors in a network. Even single vendor product may encounter interoperability issue
due to acquisitions of products from different companies. International standards are still
lacking in addressing some ground issues such as open network management for operation
and maintenance.
The ultimate goal of the next generation intelligent optical network is to achieve an
integration of the optical and the data layers. This would allow network operators to:
Achieve service velocity. By automatically provisioning bandwidth with bandwidth on

demand features, service provider would generate revenues faster;
Increase network efciency by utilising dynamic connections within mesh architectures

that are better suited for unpredictable data centric trafc;
Offer premium, value-added services by moving beyond “best effort” to enable the
enforcement of service level agreements , thus increasing reliability;
Tailor services to better meet client needs through exible QoS options and through
customer network management capabilities;
Simplify operations through self-conguring network that adapts to network demand,

reducing maintenance stafng needs and human errors;
Delivering a new network architecture that offers different levels of protection depending
on the service being carried;
Optimising survivability by combining protection and restoration techniques from all the
essential network layers;
Reduction in operating costs by removing unused network layers and streamlining

management applications.
2.1 ATTRIBUTES OF THE DIFFERENT NETWORK SEGMENTS
2 Next Generation Optical Networks
NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

Next generation optical networks will be characterised by data-centric trafc and an
underlying WDM optical transport network. These characteristics are signicantly different
from the rst generation optical networks based on SONET/SDH. Optical/WDM technology
is also migrating closer to end users, from long-haul networks to metropolitan area
networks and ultimately access networks.
In this chapter, we will rst describe the different requirements and development in three
market segments; namely, long-haul and core, metropolitan area, and access. Then, we
will discuss the issues involved and the possible scenarios in migrating from the existing
SONET/SDH network to next generation optical networks. The discussion will focus on a
major worldwide effort in dening an IP-over-WDM network for supporting IP trafc over
WDM with a streamlined protocol architecture, and include the much-talk-about Generalised
Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) for implementing the optical control plane of the
Optical Transport Network (OTN). We will end the chapter with a brief discussion of various
relevant standardisation efforts.
In general, a public communication network has a three-tier architecture, consisting of

access networks (<10km), metropolitan area networks (typically up to 100km) and long-
haul networks (hundreds to thousands of km). The access and metropolitan area networks
are sometimes referred to as metro edge networks and metro core networks, respectively.
In the past few years, the installation of more trans-oceanic and trans-continental bre
optic cables by global carriers and consortiums and the successful deployment of many
long-haul DWDM solutions have resulted in a windfall in core transport capacity. This has led
to optical network equipment vendors and component manufacturers shifting their focus
from the long-haul to the metropolitan network and, to a lesser extent, the access network
market. While all the three network segments can capitalise on the capacity and exibility
that are possible with DWDM technologies, their basic requirements are different and,
hence, they present different challenges and opportunities.
2.1.1 Long-Haul Network
Long-haul networks span large geographical distances and connect metropolitan area
networks and amongst each other to extend the optical connectivity regionally and globally.
Due to the high cost of bre installation and maintenance and the high volume of trafc
a long-haul network is expected to carry, the main concern of these networks has been
how to maximise the transport capability of each bre by achieving the best combination
of channel count per bre and data rate per channel. Today, most of the installed systems
support few tens to a couple of hundred wavelengths and each wavelength is typically used
to carry a 2.5Gb/s (OC-48 or STM-16) or 10Gb/s (OC-192 or STM-64) SONET/SDH signal.
Since severe impairments can arise for increased DWDM channel counts and data rate,
careful engineering provisions are required to maintain channel qualities over long distances.
In today’s DWDM systems, signals typically need to be amplied every 80 to100 km and
regenerated every 500 to 600 km. Optical amplications and full-electronic regeneration
represent a signicant cost component in both installation and maintenance of the long-
haul facilities; this has generated signicant interest to increase amplier spacing and
regenerator spacing.
Even though the demand for long-haul bandwidth has eased recently due to the temporary
oversupply and the prudent stands taken by telcos, most market analysts still project a very
healthy growth for this segment. Technology wise, there is still ample room to bring down
the cost-per-bit of data transmission by expanding the capacity further through one of the
following means:
Reduce wavelength spacing. Most existing DWDM systems have wavelength spacing
of 100GHz or 50GHz. Reduce the wavelength spacing from 50GHz to 25GHz and
12.5GHz requires such components as laser sources, lters, wavelength splitters and
wavelength combiners etc. to have much lower linewidth, much better temperature
stability and more stringent interference control etc. Thus, there is ample scope for the
research and development of new materials, devices and sub-system designs that will
enable wavelengths to be packed more densely;
Increase transmission spectrum. The spectrum of an optical bre transmission

system for long-haul networks is primarily limited by the spectrum of the optical
amplier. At present, erbium-doped bre amplier (EDFA), which has a spectrum from
1530 to 1560nm (C-band), is the only commercially viable solution. Possible ways
to expand the spectrum include the use of the long wavelength (L-band) and short
wavelength (S-band) regions of the EDFA, or by using a different type of amplier
known as Raman amplier. Raman amplier has virtually unlimited bandwidth; however,
it requires a high power pump source, which was not possible in the past. With the
invention of new bres for bre components, powerful pump sources are beginning to
be available. There is ample scope for the design of an EDFA system that makes use of
the S-band, C-band and L-band, design of Raman amplier system, and the invention
of new optical ampliers that will co-exist or replace EDFA and Raman ampliers;
Increase transmission bit-rate per channel. The maximum transmission bit-rate

of a DWDM channel is typically limited by chromatic, waveguide and polarisation mode
dispersions. Today’s systems typically operate at 2.5Gb/s and 10Gb/s per channel.
Polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) is already affecting 10Gb/s systems; when the
bit rate needs to be increased to 40Gb/s and beyond, the PMD effect needs to be
mitigated. Systems at 160Gb/s and beyond will also require optical time division
multiplexing to optically multiplex various lower bit-rate streams due to the speed
limitation of electronic devices. Higher bit-rate systems may also favour the soliton
technology.
Apart from squeezing more bandwidth from a bre, as each carrier expands its long-haul
and core networks, there is a need to have a better way to manage the network,
provision services, optimise the network performance and provide network restoration and
survivability. This has sparked some research and standardisation efforts in developing an
optical control plane to ease the control and management of the network.
2.1.2 Metropolitan Area Network

Metropolitan optical networks facilitate the ow of trafc between local exchanges, ISP
points of presence (POPs) and enterprise trafc within a metropolitan area. In addition, it
aggregates trafc meant for other geographical locations as well as distributes trafc from
other geographical locations to the area.
Commercial metropolitan DWDM systems have begun to be deployed and have strong
potential for growth. Unlike the long-haul networks, metro systems have less stringent
requirements on the system performance because of the shorter distance, lower data rate
and lower number of wavelengths per bre. The issues of concerns in metropolitan optical
networks are the following:
Ease of service provisioning. The metro market is a ercely competitive arena

for the Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs) and Competitive Local Exchange
Carriers (CLECs) to offer services to customers. In addition, changes in customer
demand impact the metropolitan optical networks signicantly more compared to their
long-haul counterparts because of smaller capacity, and smaller pooling effect due
to their proximity to customers. Existing SONET/SDH networks have a long service
provisioning time-scale (in terms of days) and present an opportunity for new metro
optical equipment that can ease and speed up service provisioning;
Flexible upgrade. The pace of bandwidth demand in metropolitan area network calls
for new solutions, much more exible and scalable than traditional SONET/SDH rings.
Scalability is not just about being able to increase capacity when the demand calls for
but more of being able to upgrade the system gracefully with no service disruption and
low initial investment cost;
Optimised resource utilisation. Data trafc burstiness is higher in metropolitan area

than in long-haul network due to less efcient statistical multiplexing in a network
closer to the access and usually with simpler topologies. Next generation metropolitan
solutions will need to propose more sophisticated bandwidth and resource allocation
management schemes, to provide bandwidth-exible services at affordable costs;
Low cost per transferred bit. Cost is of major importance in metropolitan area
networks because of keen competition and because the cost has to be passed almost
directly to customers, who are understandably cost conscious. Capacity and exibility
obviously have to be traded off with the added cost, although higher utilisation of
available resources will drive it down;
Transparency. Since a much greater variety of protocols coexist in the metropolitan

area networks, compared to the long-haul networks, a high level of transparency with
respect to these protocols is expected to preserve the past investment of network
operators.
As for the enterprise segment, suppliers have offered economical enterprise DWDM
solutions to relieve the bandwidth bottlenecks in storage area networks and data-intensive
sites. Another key benet of DWDM is the exibility that it offers as a protocol-transparent
and bit-independent system, capable of providing support for different protocols like FDDI,
ESCON, Fibre Channel, ATM, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet.
2.2 OPTICAL NETWORK EVOLUTION
2.1.3 Access Network
The access network links customer premises equipment (CPE) to the rst point of
connection in the network infrastructure (i.e. a POP or LEX). Today, the customer premises
remain the most challenging aspects from a service cost perspective as customers tend
to be most price sensitive. The access network has hitherto consisted predominantly of
passive, twisted-pair copper wires and coaxial cables.
Increasingly, optical bre is seen as the ultimate solution for delivering Interactive
Broadband Multimedia (IBBMM) content to the residential or business consumers. Unlike
transition solutions like Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and Hybrid Fibre-Coax (HFC) systems,
optical access networks are unlikely to encounter any bandwidth bottleneck.
Passive optical networks (PONs) aim to remove the bottleneck by bringing the bre closer
to the building/curb/home. This point-to-multipoint architecture connects a few subscribers
on one shared bre network by using passive components between the Optical Network
Unit (ONU) and Optical Line Terminating (OLT). The former is to be installed on or close to
customer premises while the later is needed in the local exchange.
Today, most of these network elements are still very expensive to deploy. Cost-effective
ONU and OLT equipment are much needed. Beside price, electrical powering and the
absence of compelling high-bandwidth applications are prime considerations to the early
deployment of PONs in access network.
The development of optical communication and networking has a short history. Even
though laser was invented in the 1950s, research into optical bres and other components
for optical communications only began in the 1960s and commercial deployment of optical
communication systems only started in the 1970s. Earlier systems for telecommunication
use are proprietary point-to-point systems. Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and
Synchronous Digital hierarchy (SDH) which emerged in the 1980s are often referred to
as 1st generation optical networks. In these networks, optical communication is regarded
simply as a transmission technology that allows a data stream to be transmitted from
one point to another, quite independent from the data link and network protocols to be
supported and the network’s management and control functions. In addition, all switching,
processing and operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) functions are carried out
electronically.
Some regard ATM, frame-relay and other technologies that involve substantial changes in
data link layer as 2nd generation networks. Today, these technologies, particularly ATM,
play an important role in service provider networks. In a typical service provider network,
SONET/SDH layer provides bandwidth allocation and multiplexing on a xed bandwidth or
circuit-switched basis, and protection against bre cut and other faults at the physical layer.
ATM layer provides statistical multiplexing, quality of service provisioning, multiservice
integration, and routing to optimise trafc delivery. IP trafc and other native ATM services
are supported by the ATM layer.
Though it is still not clear the exact form the next generation optical network will take,
recent development seems to suggest the need to support IP trafc efciently over a
WDM optical transport network with some form of quality of service provisioning. Also,
another important step in the development of the next generation network is to dene an

optical control plane to allow wavelength routing and assignment, network restoration and
survivability functions to be implemented at the wavelength level, and trafc to be switched
and routed to different extent in the optical domain.
In the sections that follow, we will briey describe the SONET/SDH networks and the
architecture of the existing optical networks based on SONET/SDH. This is followed by a
discussion of the issues, challenges and possible architectures of next generation optical
networks.
2.2.1 SONET/SDH Networks
SONET’s development began in the 1980s in the US when there was a need to have a set
of open standards for optical equipment developed by different vendors to interoperate –
referred to as mid-span meet. SONET standards were developed by the American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) T1 Committee by incorporating a number of innovative features
developed in the Metrobus project of AT&T’s Bell Labs. SDH is an international standards
derived from SONET and developed by ITU-T.
SONET/SDH is also hailed as a 2nd generation digital transport system because it is

signicantly different from 1st generation digital transport systems, which are pleisochronous
in nature. Pleisochronous means “almost synchronous”. These systems are called as such
because of the need to rectify the slight deviation of the clock rates in the received and
transmitted signals by bit stufng. The location of bits assigned to a TDM circuit hence
varies slightly from frame to frame. These rst generation digital transport systems are
commonly known as the T1/E1 carrier systems, and sometimes also referred to as the
Pleisochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) systems.
Unlike PDH, SONET/SDH nodes are synchronised with each other with a very accurate
and reliable clock, which can be derived from bits transmitted in the SONET/SDH
frame overheads. SONET/SDH networks use a simple and yet powerful multiplexing
and demultiplexing scheme to allow a network node to have direct access to low rate
multiplexed signals, without the need to demultiplex the signals. They provide extensive
operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) services to network operators and users
using the frame overheads and payload overheads. In addition, SONET/SDH networks are
designed to be fault tolerant by setting aside a signicant proportion of resources for
backup, and provide a switch over time of less than 50ms.
The basic topologies for SONET/SDH system are linear, ring and meshed. The topologies
can be combined in several combinations such as hybrid mesh/ring and hierarchical multi-
ring. These basic topologies are usually supported by two types of network elements: digital
crossconnect systems (DCS) and add/drop multiplexers (ADMs). The former are able to
cross-connect digital signal streams in different SONET/SDH payloads in different optical
bres while the later could drop and insert digital signal streams in a SONET/SDH payload
but cannot cross-connect digital signal streams in different SONET/SDH payloads. For point-
to-point SONET/SDH networks, different sites are interconnected linearly e.g. one after the
other with an ADM at every site. A ring network is constructed by linking different sites
in a loop, which allows one site to reach another site in two directions. The advantage is
that in the case of a failure at one point in the ring, connectivity can still be maintained by
transmission in the other direction.
Even though SONET/SDH can coexist with WDM and there exists an easy migration path by
regarding each WDM wavelength as a point-to-point virtual bre and running SONET/SDH
on top of it, this is not perceived as a good solution because of the following issues:
Though IP trafc can be supported through such layer 2 protocols like ATM, frame-
relay and Gigabit Ethernet, the multi-layer protocol structure is inefcient and complex.
Moreover, many installed ADMs and DCSs are pure Layer 1 equipment and do not
perform trafc grooming and aggregation at the data link and network layers. Normally
data trafc is groomed and aggregated at the local exchanges. This makes SONET/SDH
system inefcient in supporting IP, ATM and FR based services because the trafc from
different customers have to be carried in separate digital leased circuits all the way to
the local exchange where they can be groomed and aggregated. It is worth pointing out
that some of the newer SONET/SDH equipment has reduced the problem to different
extents;
The self-healing feature of SONET/SDH network is typically implemented with a

signicant proportion of capacity reserved for backup. For example, in a typical SONET/
SDH ring, half the bandwidth is used to carry trafc while the other half is reserved for
protection, representing 50% unused capacity. In a competitive market at a time when
each strand of bre can potentially carry tens to thousands of gigabits per second of
trafc, such a way of providing fault tolerant is not satisfactory;
Due to the way SONET/SDH equipment is designed, carriers normally have to deploy
multiple rings on top of each other to increase capacity as demand grows. In addition,
DCS and ADM must be manually congured and maintained. The complex multi-ring
topology and manual conguration of these equipments make service provisioning a
difcult and slow process that could take a few days to a few weeks to complete.
2.2.2 Architecture of Existing Optical Networks
Most of the existing optical networks have a multi-layer structure as shown in Figure 1,
consisting of an optical layer, a SONET/SDH layer, an ATM layer and an IP/MPLS layer.
Figure 1. Multi-layer Structure of Existing Networks
10
In today’s networks, the optical layer is primarily dealing with signal transmission,
amplication and reception. Switching and intelligence are done in the electronic realm.

Therefore OEO conversion is required. In the case of a WDM system, it also includes static
cross-connection of wavelengths and bres and static add-drop of wavelengths.
From the users’ perspectives, SONET/SDH equipment connects the bre cable plant and
transmission facilities and converts them into a circuit-switched network, where xed
bandwidth circuits of discrete data rates can be allocated and leased for different services
and applications. Different types of networks such as an ATM network, a frame-relay
network or an enterprise-wide area network can be overlaid on top of a SONET/SDH
network using its xed bandwidth circuits at different bit rates. From a carrier’s perspective,
SONET/SDH provides good fault-tolerant that ensures minimum disruption of services to
the customers when there is a bre cut, network node failure and other types of failure. It
eases operation, management and maintenance by providing a rich set of OAM functions.
It is also able to meet the bandwidth requirements of different users and applications by
providing a multiplexing hierarchy that supports a multitude of bit rates.
While the SONET/SDH can readily support telephony, ISDN and leased-line services, data
and multimedia services and other advanced service offerings are best supported by an
ATM network overlaying on the SONET/SDH network. The ATM network allows statistical
multiplexing of trafc from different customers and different applications. ATM can provide
trafc control and QoS assurance to individual trafc streams. Each trafc stream can be
a particular type of trafc from a particular customer, a particular type of trafc from a
closed user group, all the trafc from a particular site, or classied in some other way. The
overlaying ATM network can also optimise trafc delivery for different service offerings by
means of its own routing mechanisms. Because of its ability to support QoS, voice and other
real-time trafc can be supported alongside data and other trafc via the ATM interface.
At present, there are two major approaches for a service provider to build an IP network
that will route IP trafc and support IP/MPLS services; namely, IP over ATM over SONET/
SDH and Packet over SONET/SDH, which are depicted in Figure 1. For the IP over ATM
approach, IP trafc can be carried over the ATM network based on Classical Internet
Protocol (CLIP) over ATM dened by RFC 1577 or Multiprotocol Encapsulation over AAL5
solution by RFC 1483. Alternatively, the MPLS solution dened by RFC 3031 can be used to
carry IP trafc over an ATM network.
IP over ATM. The IP over ATM solution regards the underlying ATM network as pockets
of ATM clouds (subnetworks) with each cloud connecting IP hosts and router interfaces
belonging to the same IP subnet. The mapping between an IP address and the ATM address
is provided by means of an Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) server, which could be a
standalone server but it normally resides on an ATM equipment. There are several problems
with this solution. Firstly, the IP layer has no inuence over how the IP trafc is routed in
the underlying ATM network, so routing is generally not optimised. Secondly, the ATM layer
simply regards each IP packet as an independent entity and provides only a connectionless
oriented service. As such IP services and applications cannot take advantage of the QoS
provisioning of ATM. Thirdly, scalability is a problem because a virtual connection needs
to be provided between each IP router within the same IP subnet to establish a full-mesh
logical connection and between each active IP host and router that have trafc exchanges.
In addition, such a full-mesh could result in routing protocol trafc ooding the network
when the network topology is not stable either due to network component failure or some
form of dial-on-demand routing is used for certain link.
11
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). MPLS is a new approach for deploying IP

network that has been standardised by IETF over the last few years. It separates the
routing and trafc control function from the packet forwarding function and provides a
mechanism for information about network connectivity, bandwidth and utilisation that is
available to a Layer 2 protocol, e.g., ATM or frame-relay, to be made known to Layer 3,
i.e., IP layer. By doing so, it allows the control plane to be developed independently from
the packet forwarding mechanism, and better routing and trafc engineering decisions to
be made by making use of the information learned by the underlying Layer 2 protocol.
In addition, its ability to partition and label IP packets belonging to the same ow allow
differentiated QoS and service level agreements to be offered.
MPLS makes use of label switching for packet forwarding, much like ATM. An MPLS network
consists of a number of Label Switching Routers (LSRs) interconnected in an arbitrary way.
A small, xed-format label is attached to each packet at the ingress router. The label identi-
es the packet as belonging to a particular forward equivalence class (FEC). A FEC is an
MPLS terminology that refers to packets that share the same attributes and should be
treated by the router in the same way. The concept of FEC allows different forwarding
granularities to be used; for example, an FEC can be dened for packets that matches a
particular IP address prex or dened for a particular pair of source and destination IP
addresses and a particular application, e.g., real-video, http or telnet.
Among the advantages of MPLS is its ability to provide differentiated QoS to IP trafc ow
and thus allow service level agreements to their customers and MPLS is generally viewed
as a good way for trafc engineering and virtual private network provisioning. The packet
is forwarded at each LSR by using the combination of incoming label value and interface to
reference a lookup table to determine its next hop and the new label value it should take.
The label is removed at the egress router where normal IP routing and forwarding will take
place. This forwarding mechanism can be performed in hardware and is potentially much
faster than the conventional longest IP address prex match approach used in a conven-
tional IP router. It is essentially the same as how ATM and frame-relay cells are forwarded
and, as such, an ATM or frame-relay switch can be turned into an LSR by adding an MPLS
control module. The exact format of the label and how it is added to the packet depends
on the Layer 2 technology. For ATM, the label is carried in the VCI and VPI elds of the ATM
header; for frame-relay, it is carried in the DLCI eld; for such Layer 2 protocol like Ethernet
and PPP, a MPLS shim header is inserted between the Layer 2 and Layer 3 header.
The control plane is responsible for maintaining the IP routing table and a label information
base (LIB). The IP routing table can be maintained via a conventional interior gateway
protocol such as Open Shortest Path First (OSPF). LIB can be maintained by the Label
Distribution Protocol (LDP) specied in IETF RFC 3036 or other protocols.
Packet over SONET/SDH (POS). The IP/MPLS over ATM over SONET/SDH approach has
a number of advantages in supporting data, voice and other services in a unied manner,
and has been the only viable solution in the past for service providers and enterprises to
set up a high-speed multiservice network. One of the key disadvantages of the ATM-centric
approach is the high overhead added to a small cell size of 53 bytes. Depending on the
average packet size, the ATM header and other overheads, such as the AAL Type 5 and IP
packet headers, will result in 10 – 20% of wasted bandwidth for IP trafc. In addition, the
original assumption that ATM would eventually be the solution from the backbone network
all the way to the desktop has been quashed by the unchallenged dominant of Ethernet
12
in the LAN and enterprise network arena, making ATM less attractive to be used in the
backbone. The above problems have motivated the POS solution to be developed. Certain

framing and encapsulation method has been dened for POS. Thus far, the solution is
based on the PPP over SONET/SDH specications dened in IETF RFC 2615. Though some
vendors make use of Diffserv ore some proprietary solutions for providing differentiated
QoS at the IP layer, it is still not clear how such an approach will fare in view of the growing
importance of the MPLS approach, which seems to offer more exibility and is future-safe.
2.2.3 Architecture of Next Generation Optical Network, Issues and Challenges
Solutions such as POS, IP/MPLS over ATM over SONET/SDH, Multiservice Provisioning
Platform (MSPP) etc, have actually helped to prolong the life span of the legacy SONET/SDH
systems. It is clear that whatever form the next generation optical network will take, IP and
DWDM will be featured prominently.
IP over WDM. The fact that the existing multi-layer architecture consisting of different
protocol combinations of IP, ATM and SONET is inefcient and complex have quite naturally
led to the notion of an IP over WDM architecture. However, what is meant by IP over
WDM is subjected to different interpretation. The term IP over WDM, when interpreted
narrowly, implies converting IP packets into optical signal directly and transmits onto
a WDM transport network without any intermediate layer/protocol. However, this is not
a practical proposition because not all the essential functions of these layers can be
implemented at the IP layer or WDM layer. For example, encapsulation is required to get
an IP packet onto a wavelength, so that the start and end of each IP packet can be
recognised and that bit boundary is clearly identied. Due to lack of commercially available
optical signal processing and framing solutions, this function still needs to be provided
electronically at the point where IP packets are to be converted into electronic signals for
processing and routing.
On the other hand, if IP over WDM is interpreted in the broad sense, it can refer to any
architecture that has an IP layer, a WDM layer with any protocol layers in between the two,
including many protocol architectures that are in use today. Here, we interpret IP over
WDM in the broad sense but bearing in mind that it is evolving towards a streamlined
structure with most of the functionalities essential for implementing large-scale optical
networks being shifted to the IP layer or the optical/WDM layer.
At present, there are two major developments that are expected to have signicant impact
on the eventual form of an IP over WDM network. The rst is the development of an
all-encompassing and exible framing scheme, called digital wrapper, that will provide
SONET/SDH like management features while allowing a wide variety of protocols and trafc
to be supported almost directly on top of the optical layer. The next is the development
of an optical control plane that will control Layer 1 to Layer 3 equipment in a unied
manner and has the exibility for carriers and service providers to implement their networks
to suit their individual requirements using different combinations of existing and new data
forwarding technologies. These two developments are discussed below.
13
Use of Digital Wrappers. There is much hope that future optical networks will
eventually be all-optical, consisting of all-optical wavelength routers, add-drop multiplexers,
wavelength converters, and optical 3R regeneration (re-amplication, re-shape and re-time)
that will provide end-to-end wavelength services in a large scale network that spans
large geographical distance and supports a large number of simultaneous wavelengths.
Small-scale all-optical networks without optical 3R and wavelength conversions can
be implemented with all-optical crossconnect switches and add/drop multiplexers that
are readily available. However, large-scale all-optical networks that require wavelength
conversions to provide the exibility and scalability, and optical 3R to eliminate impairment
accumulation will not be commercially viable in the near future.
In the near term, it is more realistic to expect that some kind of OEO conversions will
still be required in large-scale optical networks, perhaps with pockets of small, optically
transparent subnetworks connected with equipment that will provide 3R regeneration and
other functionalities in the electronic domain. This notion of a next generation optical
network has motivated the development of “Digital Wrapper”, which can be seen as
an equivalence of SONET/SDH in the relatively simple rst generation optical transport
network based on single-wavelength transmission. It has been standardised by ITU-T in
Recommendation G.709.
Digital Wrapper has a frame structure similar to SONET/SDH, which has overhead bits in
the frame header to allow each wavelength to be managed as a discrete optical channel
(OCh). It is able to provide optical-layer performance monitoring, and network protection
on a per-channel basis, independent of the input signal format. In addition, it makes
provision for an optional forward error correction (FEC) function to be supported with an
additional overhead of 1024 bytes in the trailer. The FEC function serves to improve the bit
error rate performance and, thus, enable the regenerator spacing to be extended by 100
to 300km at the expense of a slight increase in the overhead. By simply encapsulating or
“wrapping” the signals without disrupting the bit-rate, format or timing of the signal, Digital
Wrapper is able to carry a wide variety of client signals that include SONET/SDH, IP, ATM,
GbE and Simplied Data Link (SDL). One of the key advantages of Digital Wrapper is that its
does not assume that IP will be the only protocol in use in next generation optical network
and thus enable the protocol architecture to evolve gracefully.
Emerging Optical Control Plane. The trafc evolution is such that it makes
economic sense for IP to be the convergence layer to support different types of services,
including voice and possibly video, which have more stringent QoS requirements than the
conventional ‘best effort’ service the IP layer provides. Thus far, the most promising way
to support such an IP-centric architecture is by means of MPLS, which is described in the
previous section.
The concept of using MPLS in a common control plane to control the packet forwarding
equipment in the data plane can easily be extended to the next generation optical network,
be it an optically transparent network or an optically translucent ones. Translucent means
that some opto-electronic conversions are required in the network. Such an expansion in
scope will require MPLS to be enhanced so that it will be able to control not only packet
switching equipment such as IP routers and ATM switches but also SONET/SDH equipment
such as DCS and ADM and WDM equipment such as Optical Crossconnect (OXC) and
Optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM). There are three ways for Label Switching Routers
(LSRs) in the optical transport network (OTN) and IP routers in the IP layer to interact; they
are best known as peer model, overlay model and hybrid model. In the context of GMPLS,
14
LSRs are GMPLS enabled network equipment in the OTN; e.g., OXC, OADM, SONET/SDH
DCS or ADM.

The peer model has a single routing domain for all IP routers and optical transport network
equipment. What it means is that the IP routers are aware of the topology, bandwidth
and other connectivity information within the OTN and are able to inuence the routing
decisions within the OTN to optimise network performance. Though the transparency can
help to optimise routing and network performance, a peer model is only applicable if all the
IP routers and OTN equipment belong to the same administrative domain.
In the overlay model, the OTN appears as an optical cloud or black box whose internal
structure is not visible to the IP routers and other types of devices that it connects to.
These IP routers and devices are the clients of the OTN and can initiate connectivity
requests through an Optical User-to-Network (O_UNI) interface. Since the client layer and
the OTN have their own routing domains and make independent routing decisions, the
resulting network is more complex and routing is not optimal. This model is applicable
where the service providers and corporate clients only lease wavelengths or TDM circuits
from carriers.
The hybrid model is simply a combination of the peer model and the overlay model. This
model is applicable where a carrier’s network consists of LSRs and IP routers and provides
both wavelength and IP services to the client. The hybrid model offers substantial exibility
to carriers and service providers to deploy the most cost-effective model for their needs.
In order to support these models, the signaling and routing protocols of GMPLS need to
be enhanced. In addition, unlike in the electronic domain where label could be inserted,
removed and processed easily, there is no practical way to generate a physical optical label
that can be inserted, dropped, optically processed and based on it to route optical packets.
There is a proposal based on the use of an abstract label that is explicitly dened by
virtual of the position of the packet within the hierarchical structure of bre bundle, bre,
wavelength, and time slot within a TDM frame (assuming that SONET/SDH or other TDM
equipment is used to provide fractional wavelength service). Further work is required to
address the scalability of the above approach or to devise a new approach because the
MPLS label space is in the order of one million per port while the number of wavelengths
and TDM channels are in the order of tens to hundreds per port.
Evolution of Long-Haul Networks. The long-haul segment addresses the optimised

delivery of service bits between metropolitan areas and regions. Generally recognised by
their massive bandwidth densities of up to terabits of data, network elements typically
offer line interfaces at OC-48 and above. This segment can be subdivided into two
complementary camps - transmission and switching. Transmission elements use DWDM
technology or other emerging photonics technologies to create copious amounts of raw
bandwidth. Switching elements such as optical cross connects and performing monitoring
are propagated throughout this layer with the chief purpose of circuit switching and
bandwidth management.
Figure 2 shows the evolution of the various core networks technologies gradually
progressing toward IP and optical integration. To take full advantage of these architectures,
we are going to see the evolution of new control planes, which will allow the integration
of IP+optical together. A standard way to do this is using Generalised Multiprotocol Label
Switching (GMPLS).
15
Figure 2. Evolution of Optical Networks in Long-Haul
Evolution of Metropolitan Network. Metropolitan transport functionality deals princi-

pally with the task of bandwidth management and grooming for the efcient transport of
services among multiple Points of Presences (POPs) or Central Ofces in a particular geo-
graphical area. Typical network elements that offer solutions in this segment have band-
width density of up to few hundreds gigabits-per-second, and offer line support up to
OC-48 (with OC-192 on the horizon).
Many architectures and solutions are currently being proposed for next-generation met-
ropolitan area network architectures. This is depicted in Figure 3. What we will see in
this segment will be a multi-directional development of existing technology such as SONET/
SDH, coexisting with newer technologies such as metro DWDM, and 10GbE and RPR in the
near future.
As bandwidth demand increases, SONET would be progressively displaced. In its place,

we will see services provisioned directly over the optical layer eventually. The SONET/SDH
has started to evolve toward systems with multi service optimisation. These data-optimised
SONET/SDH access optical transport systems, also known as Multiservice Provisioning
Platforms (MSPPs), offer consolidated multi services capability coupled with traditional
transport technologies such as DWDM and/or SONET. MSPPs offer the combined benet of
transport plus layer two or three data intelligence for MAN.
In the near term, emerging technologies such as 10GbE and Resilient Packet Ring (RPR)
are envisaged to position strongly in this segment of the network. This would mean that
pre-standard product will start to enter this market.
The end goal is to unify IP+optical together to deliver services even more efciently.
IP+optical means effectively the integration of IP and optical, which is a method of
controlling the optical plane by an IP-derived intelligence, or integrating IP routing and
trafc engineering with the optical layer.
16
IP + OPTICAL

RESILENT PACKET RING
10 GIGABIT ETHERNET
METRO DWDM
SONET / SDH
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Figure 3. Evolution of Optical Networks in MAN
Market Outlook. According to Cahners In-Stat, the metro optical network market,
including traditional SONET, next generation SONET, DWDM and optical Ethernet, is
expected to grow from US$13 billion in 2001 to US$23.6 billion in 2005, making it one of
the fastest growing segments in the telecommunications equipment industry.
Evolution of Access Network. With the ongoing demand for more bandwidth, more
telcos are beginning to deploy technologies such as PON in access networks. Fibre-to-the-
home (FTTH) is the undisputed ultimate solution in many studies performed in the last
couple of years, but up to now, the price of optics has prevented large-scale deployment.
At present the most important stimulus for PON development is the interest of operators
in the US, where video distribution has contributed to the demand for this technology in
access networks.
Toward Passive Optical Network. The basic principle of PON is to share the central
optical line terminal (OLT) and the feeder bre over as many optical network units (ONUs)
as much as practical. ‘Passive’ simply describes the fact that optical transmission has
no power requirements or active electronic devices once the signal passed through the
network. Using a passive point-to-multipoint bre network, typically consist of optical bres
and one or more splitters in cascade, a number of ONUs are connected to an OLT in a tree
topology. Bus and ring topologies are considered less suitable for user connections, as they
run a higher risk of individual users causing disruptions to other users. Depending on where
the PON terminates, the system can be described as bre-to-the-curb (FTTC), bre-to-the-
building (FTTB), bre-to-the-cabinet (FTTCab), bre-to-the-ofce (FTTO) or bre-to-the-
home (FTTH). Two compelling approaches for implementing a PON are described below:
Broadband Passive Optical Network (BPON). Also called ATM-based PON (APON).
The high price point of APON products over the years, combined with a lack of
compelling high bandwidth applications have made it difcult to justify the cost of
deploying APON than to choose a more economical solution such as T1/E1 using
existing copper wires. Coupled with provisioning complexity in ATM access networks,
relatively low bit rates dened by the APON standards (155Mb/s symmetrical and
622/155Mb/s asymmetrical) and the lack of multicast support on a per service basis
would face even greater challenge by an up and coming technology, EPON;
17
2.3 STANDARD DEVELOPMENTS
Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON). EPON evolution is driven by the

fact that most of the data trafc within enterprises and outwards to the network is
IP/Ethernet based. Ethernet is highly suitable for transporting IP data considering that
the variable length structure of the Ethernet frame has a much larger maximum size
of 1518 bytes. One of its attractiveness is the large price difference between Ethernet
components and ATM components. The former has a much larger market due to its
dominant in the enterprise network market. However, EPON technology is still not
fully dened. It lacks two major functionalities. One is the OAM&P functionality, which
is well dened in APON systems but not well established in Ethernet systems. This
feature is important for operators to carry out network monitoring. Another important
functionality that is lacking is QoS provisioning. Although data networks utilising
Ethernet have various mechanisms to provide QOS i.e. priority schemes (802.1p) and
diffserve for delay/latency/jitter sensitive applications such as voice and multimedia,
they inherently add complexity and cost to the network due to the sophisticated
protocols, and complicated management and provisioning issues.
In this section, we will cover the most important standardisation activities currently
in development by the various standard bodies such as ITU, IETF, IEEE, and industry
organisations such as OIF, RPR and 10Gigabit Ethernet alliance.
2.3.1 ITU-T
The standardisation work related to Optical Networks is carried out in two Study Groups
within ITU-T:
Study Group 15 is the lead Study Group and it undertakes areas related to optical
and other transport networks. It is responsible for most G-series standards except for
those assigned to Study Group 2, 4, 13 and 16;
Study Group 13 covers Multi-protocol and IP-based networks and their internetworking
areas. It is responsible for the G.900 series and some I-series standards.
Current to the date of writing, ITU-T has approved a number of important recommendations
in optical networking (see Table 1). The recommendations in boldface are the new
Optical Network recommendations complementing the existing one used in transmission
networks.
18
Table 1. ITU-T Recommendations for Optical Network

Description
Description ON Details Status
Framework for G.871 Framework of Optical Transport Network Approved
Recommendation Recommendations
Components & G.661 Definition and Test Methods for the Relevant Approved
Subsystems Generic Parameters of Optical Amplifier Devices
and Subsystems
G.662 Generic Characteristics of Optical Amplifier Devices Approved
and Subsystems
G.663 Application Related Aspects of Optical Amplifer Approved
Devices and Subsystems
G.671 Transmission Characteristics of Passive Optical Approved
Components
Functional G.681 Functional Characteristics of Interoffice and Long- Approved
Characteristics i
Haul Systems using Optical amplifiers, Including
Optical Multiplexers
G.798 Specifies the Characteristics of OTN Equipment,
Additional
Including Supervision, Information Flow, Processes
Review
and Functions
Physical Layer G.691 Optical Interfaces for Single Channel SDH Systems Approved
Aspects with Optical Amplifiers, and STM-64 Systems
G.692 Optical Interfaces for Multi-channel Systems with Approved
Optical Amplifiers
G.959.1 Optical Transport Network Physical Layer Interfaces Approved
Architectural G.872 Architecture of Optical Transport Networks Approved
Aspects
Structures & G.709 Interface for the Optical Transport Network Approved
Mapping
Management G.874 Defines Information Required for Managing the
Aspects Optical Network Elements Defined in G.798 Approved
G.875 “OTN Management Information Model for the

. Complements G.874
Network Element (NE) View”. In progress
G.664 Optical Safety Procedures and Requirements for Approved

Optical Transport Systems
The ITU-T initiated work on Optical Transport Network (OTN) standardisation by chartering
a series of OTN Recommendations in 1997. Among these standards, the most important is
the Recommendation G.872. It was the rst standard in the OTN series to be approved in
Feb 1999. The next two standards in the OTN series, G.709 and G.959.1, were approved in
Feb 2001. Optical signals with bit rates of 2.5, 10, and 40Gb/s are supported. The standards
also support a range of initial client signals, namely SONET/SDH, Ethernet, IP, ATM and
Fibre Channel.
Optical Transport Network (OTN) Infrastructure (G.872). ITU-T Recommendation

G.872 describes the functional architecture of OTNs, using the modelling methodology
described in Recommendation G.805.
19
The architecture denes a layered structure with three distinct layers, as shown in Figure 4.
Optical Channel layer network (OCh). This layer provides for an end-to-end
transport of client signals (e.g. SONET/SDH, ATM cells) through an optical trail between
access points. Functions in this layer include:
§ Connection re-arrangement for exible network routing;
§ Overhead functions for ensuring integrity of the optical channel adapted
information;
§ Supervisory functions for enabling network level operations and management
functions, such as connection provisioning, quality of service parameter exchange
and network survivability.
Optical Multiplex Section layer network (OMS). This layer provides the
functionality required for the proper operation of a multi-wavelength transmission
system. This includes:
§ Overhead functions for ensuring integrity of the multi-wavelength multiplex section
adapted information;
§ Supervisory functions for enabling section level operations and management
functions, such as multiplex section survivability.
Optical Transmission Section layer network (OTS). This is the lowest layer and
deals with transmission of optical signals on various types of optical bre media (e.g.
G.652, G.653 and G.655 bre). It also has its own overhead and supervisory functions
for ensuring proper operation at its level.
IP ATM Ethernet STM-n
Optical Channel
(OCh)
Optical Multiplex Section

(OMSn)
Optical Transmission Section

(OTSn)
Figure 4. Layered Structure of OTN
Adaptations take place in between adjacent layers. The adaptation of client signal to
the OCh layer involves generating a continuous data stream for subsequent modulation.
The OCh/OMS adaptation allocates wavelength to each OCh and modulates the channel’s
data stream onto the allocated optical carrier or wavelength. All channels are multiplexed
together and handed over to the OTS layer. The OMS/OTS adaptation handles the
management and monitoring function necessary for the OMS.
As shown in Figure 5, multiple OChs are optically multiplexed together to create an OMS
to be carried over a DWDM system. Each of these optical channels consists of client signals
mapped from its digital format. The OMS is transported optically over a span of optical bre
that constitutes the OTS.
20
Optical Mux / DeMux

Amplifier
Optical Channels
OTS OTS OTS
OMS
OCh
Figure 5. Conceptual View of OTN
Digital Wrapper and Optical Network Node Interface (G.709). The ITU-T G.709 is
another important recommendation that outlines the specication of a digital wrapper for
optical signal in the context of interconnecting optical transport network.
The concept of digital wrapper involves “wrapping” a digital envelope around the optical
channel so that each wavelength, or optical channel, can be monitored and managed
non-intrusively. The wrapping does not interfere or disrupt the bit-rate, format or timing
of the client signal carried in the optical channel. This enables the optical network to
be compatible with existing network technology and protocols. Transponders on optical
transport systems can directly support client-side interfaces such as GbE, ATM and POS.
The following gure depicts the concept of digital wrapper.
Figure 6. Digital Wrapper
The digital wrapper comprises a OCh overhead before the client payload and a Forward
Error Correction (FEC) after the payload. At the ingress of the optical network, client signal
is mapped into a digital wrapper and converted into an optical channel. The FEC is done by
inserting Reed-Solomon codes across the entire optical channel bit stream. At the egress
end of the optical network, the wrapper is stripped from the client signal, and Reed-
Solomon algorithm is used to re-construct the digital signal.
21
2.3.2 IETF
The IETF effort in the optical networking area is largely carried out by the IP over Optical
(ipo) working group and Common Control and Measurement Plane (ccamp)
working group.
IP over Optical Network Framework. The IPO WG’s main charter is to study and
document the overall framework required for the use of IP-based protocols and services
over an optical network. To date, this WG has published the following Internet drafts:
Impairments and Other Constraints on Optical Layer Routing;
IP over Optical Networks: A Framework;
Carrier Optical Services Requirements;
Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) Architecture and its related protocols.
The IP over Optical framework is based on general industry consensus that the optical
network control plane should re-use the signalling and routing mechanisms developed for
IP trafc engineering applications, such as MPLS, for dynamic provisioning and restoration
of lightpaths within and across optical networks. The framework is developed to dene the
architecture aspects of IP transport over optical networks, including the requirements and
mechanisms for establishing an IP-centric optical control plane.
Figure 7 shows the IETF optical internetwork model in the framework. An optical sub-
network is essentially an interconnection of Optical Crossconnects (OXC). The OXC is
expected to incorporate a control-plane processor that implements signalling and routing
protocols required for setting up and tearing down an optical trail. This optical trial rides on
the OTN architecture dened by ITU in the G.872 recommendation. That is, the optical trail
is based on the underlying network of an OMS layer and OTS layer.
Source: IETF
Figure 7. IETF Optical Internetwork Model
22
Client networks such as ATM or SONET/SDH connects to an optical core network via an IP
router over a User-Network Interface (UNI). This is the service boundary where a service

request for a connection is issued to the server, in this case, the optical network.
An optical network is an interconnection of optical sub-networks. Sub-networks within the

same administrative domain are linked by Internal Node-to-Node Interface (INNI), where
as optical network belong to different administrative domains are linked by External NNI
(ENNI). The main difference between the INNI and ENNI lies in the policies that restrict
information and control ow at the interface. In the case of ENNI, as the interconnected
network belongs to different administrative domains, hiding of topological and security
information is necessary.
IETF species two Interconnection models between the edge IP network and the optical
core network, namely, the Peer Model and the Overlay Model.
In the Peer Model, the IP and optical networks are treated as a single integrated network
from a control plane point of view. That is, the IP routers at the edge network and the OXCs
in the optical network are treated like peers as far as control plane is concerned. There
is no difference between UNI and NNI. This control plane is assumed to be MPLS-based.
The IP and optical layers are assumed to run the same instance of an IP routing protocol
(such as OSPF with optical extension). There is dynamic discovery of IP endpoints attached
to the optical network. This enables a router to compute an end-to-end path to another
router across the optical network. This model calls for IP router to have greater knowledge
of topology and routing information of the optical network, as well as a higher level of
control in determining the specic paths for connection across the optical network.
In the Overlay Model, there are two distinct network entities: the client network and
the optical network that plays the role of a server, offering dynamic connection at the
request of a client. This is done over the UNI. UNI signalling typically involves service
requests such as light path creation, deletion, modication and status enquiry. Under this
model, the IP/MPLS routing, topology distribution and signalling protocols are independent
of the routing, topology distribution and signalling protocols at the optical layer. There is no
routing exchange between the IP and optical domains.
In term of implementation complexity, the Overlay model is less complex than the Peer
model, though each model has its own advantages. The current IETF framework draft
recommends the evolution path that starts with simpler functionality in the beginning
and includes more complex functionality later. Initial deployment is expected to be based
on Overlay model. The next phase of evolution would introduce reachability information
exchange between the IP and optical domains. This would enable optical trail to be
established as part of the end-to-end LSP set-ups. The vision of IETF is the full Peer
model where more sophisticated routing interaction take place between the IP and optical
domains.
This evolution is made possible with the use of a common signalling framework based
on GMPLS. The UNI Signalling Specication 1.0 developed by the Optical Internetworking
Forum (OIF) is based on GMPLS. Although IETF GMPLS standards development is still in
progress, the current version of OIF focus on functions required for near term deployment
while having the long-term goal of continued alignment with GMPLS development. Overlay
model based on this UNI specication would be able to evolve with richer functionality set
as work in the Peer model become more sophisticated. There is no need for a complete
re-development of signalling capabilities.
23
Generalised Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS). The most visible work

from the IETF ccamp Working Group is the GMPLS architecture. The GMPLS was
evolved from MPlambdaS which started in 1999, and is based largely on the MPLS work.
GMPLS differs from MPLS in that it supports multiple types of switching. This new control
plane supports packet/cell (e.g. IP, ATM), time-division (e.g. SONET ADM), wavelength
(optical lambda) and spatial switching (e.g. incoming port to outgoing port). New forms
of “label” are required to handle the wider range of switching. These new forms are
collectively termed “generalised label”. The generalised label may carry a label that
represents, for example, a single bre in a bundle, a single wavelength within a bre or a
set of time-slots within a wavelength.
2.3.3 Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) and Automatic Switched

Transport Network (ASTN)
The ASTN and ASON have been active topics of discussions at the T1X1 committee and ITU
for over a year. They represent ITU effort in the area of dening a control plane mechanism
to enable automatic switching in optical network.
Recommendation G.807 was published in Jul 2001 and describes the network level
requirements for the control plane of automatically switched transport networks. The
second document, G.ason (G.8080/Y.1304) approved in Nov 2001, denes the control
plane architecture for introducing intelligence to the transport layer. The G.ason was also
submitted to the IETF ipo working group and it is published as an Internet draft.
The ASON/ASTN architecture belongs to the overlay model as described in the previous
section (also known as client-server model). Figure 8 shows the architecture of ASON/
ASTN, which is very similar to the IETF’s IP over optical architecture.
(CP: control panel entity)

Source: IETF
Figure 8. ASON/ASTN Global Architecture
The model denes three separate planes, each with a specic function:
Transport Plane. This plane is responsible for the transporting and switching network
trafc in end-to-end connections set up by the control plane;
Control Plane. This plane is the focus of the model and takes care of connection
establishment and signalling required for switched path in optical network;
Management Plane. This plane is responsible for all the network management
functions of the optical network.
24
Source: IETF
Figure 9. The Three Planes and Interfaces dened in ASON/ASTN Architecture
The ASON/ASTN control plane architecture denes the functional components of the
network and may make use of GMPLS as a signalling protocol. There are a couple of related
parallel developments alongside the ASON/ASTN effort in ITU (See Table 2).
Table 2. Related Work-in-Progress ITU Recommendations
Recommendation Details Status

Common Equipment
Specifies Equipment Management Functions requirement that Approved
Management
are common for SDH and OTN Nov 2001
Y.1701)
(G.7710/Y1701)
Provides the architecture requirements for an IP-based Data
Data Communication
Communication Network (DCN), the requirement for inter- Approved
Network
working between an IP-based DCN and an OSI-based DCN, Nov 2001
(G.7712/Y.1703)
and the IP-based DCN interface specifications
Distributed Call
Connection Covers the areas associated with the signalling aspects of
In progress
Management ASTN for distributed call and connection management
(G.7713/Y.1704)
Generalised
Describes the specifications for automatic discovery to aid
Automatic Discovery Approved
distributed connection management and routing in the context
Techniques Nov 2001
of ASTN/ASON
(G.7714/Y.1705)
No ITU-T contribution available. IP based intra-domain (e.g.
ASTN Routing
OSPF, IS-IS) and inter-domain (e.g. BGP- 4) routing protocols In progress
G.7715 (G.rtg)
are the strength of a GMPLS control plane
OTN Connection
For authentication of the user and controlling access to
Admission Control In progress
network resources
(G.cac)
OTN Link No ITU-T contribution available. The Link Management
Management Protocol (LMP) of GMPLS is a collection of procedures between In progress
(G.1m) adjacent nodes that provide local services such as control
channel management, link connectivity verification, link
property correlation, and fault management
25
2.3.4 Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF)
OIF (www.oiforum.com) is an open industry organisation1 representing over 340+ members

from equipment manufacturers, telecom service providers and end users. It was set up
in April 1998 to foster the development and deployment of interoperable products and
services for data switching and routing using optical networking technologies, usually
supporting and extending the work of national and international standard bodies. There are
ve working groups focusing on Architecture, Carrier services and requirements, OAM&P,
Physical & Link layer (PLL), and Signalling, with the goal to co-operatively produce technical
Implementation Agreements (IAs) and other technical documents to accelerate
the deployment of optical networking technology and facilitate industry convergence on
interoperability.
The OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group creates IAs for critical interfaces
between and within optical internetworking equipment. Table 3 lists some of the IAs
related to very short reach2 (VSR) optical interconnects.
Table 3. OIF Implementation Agreements on VSR
IA
TA Description
Description Status
Status
VSR-1: VSR OC-192
VSR-1 has 12 fibres at 1.25Gb/s each, uses 62.5um-core
Interface Based on Parallel Approved
multi-mode ribbon fibre and reaches up to 300m
Optics
For interface operating at approximately 10Gb/s at an
VSR-2: Serial OC-192
intended distance of 600m on single-mode fibre. It is Approved
1310nm VSR Interfaces
based on G.691
Utilise 4 fibres in each direction at 2.5Gb/s on a single
VSR-3: VSR OC-192 Four 12-fibre 50um-core multimode fibre ribbon cable (4
Fibre Interface Based on unused) using 850nm laser VSCEL technology over a Approved
Parallel Optics distance of 300m. It is currently deployed in optical
backplane for DCS, terabits routers and switches
Utilise a single 850nm VSCEL for the transmitter optical
VSR-4: Serial Shortwave element, and a single PIN photo detector for the
VSR OC-192 Interface for receiver, usually up to 85m. A similar 10Gb/s serial Approved
Multimode Fibre 850nm optical interface is under consideration by IEEE
802.3ae for 10GbE
VSR 40Gb/s VSR for 40Gb/s Very Short Reach Optics In Progress
1
The founding members of the forum were AT&T, Telcordia Technologies, Cienna Corporation,Cisco
Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Qwest, Sprint and WorldCom.
2
ITU is also currently working on a draft new VSR recommendation, Rec. G.VSR. The purpose of
this Recommendation is to provide serial and parallel optical interface specications to enable multi-
vendor compatibility of nominal 2.5Gb/s, 10Gb/s and 40Gb/s aggregate bit-rate intra-ofce systems
for link distances up to 2km. This Recommendation denes links using optical bres which may
include either a single bre or multiple bres per link.
26
Within the OIF, activities have been focused on establishing UNI signalling specications
based on modications to the Resource Reservation Protocol with Trafc Engineering

(RSVP-TE) and Constraint-routed Label Distribution Protocol (CR-LDP) protocols, for
implementation as part of multi-vendor interoperability demonstrations.
OIF’s UNI 1.0 specication was completed in Oct 2001. The specication denes the
signalling protocols implemented by client and transport network equipment from different
vendors to invoke services, the mechanisms used to transport signalling messages and the
auto-discovery procedure that aid signalling. The primary service that is offered by the
transport network over the UNI is the ability to create and delete connections on-demand.
As a next step to accelerate the deployment of interoperable, cost-effective and robust
optical internetworks, the OIF is initiating effort to develop signalling specications for
a network-to-network interface (NNI). Going forward, OIF UNI 2.0 will be developed to
address a number of areas including security, bandwidth modication, extension to physical
layer such as Ethernet and the ability to establish multiple connections with a single call.
2.3.5 Optical Domain Service Interconnect (ODSI)
The ODSI coalition is an informal industry forum formed in Jan 2000 to accelerate the
practical evolution and use of the optical network through the development and promotion
of an open interface between the electrical and optical layers. The coalition objective is to
dene an optical UNI interface (O-UNI). This open interface is required to enable electrical
layer devices such as IP routers and ATM switches to request high-speed optical channels
on demand. The Coalition published the ODSI functional specication in end 2000. Its work
was submitted for information purposes to ofcial standards-setting bodies. Today progress
on the O-UNI continues in groups such as the OIF, ITU-T (G.ASON), and the IETF. With the
submission of the specications, ODSI has came to a close.
2.3.6 IEEE Standard Development on Gigabit Ethernet & Resilient Packet Ring
IEEE 802.3 Working Group. The IEEE is currently working on two very important optical
networking standards; 10 Gigabit Ethernet (802.3ae) and Resilient Packet Rings
(802.17).
10 Gigabit Ethernet. With the development of Gigabit Ethernet some time ago,
inexpensive interfaces with a transmission rate at 1Gb/s have been made available in
most commercial products. Compared to the expensive ATM and Packet over SONET/SDH
links, Gigabit Ethernet provides a cost-effective solution for deploying point-to-point gigabit
connections. With the exponential growth of internet trafc, many service providers are
seeing the need for 10Gb/s links.
As a consequence, the IEEE formed the P802.3ae 10Gb/s Ethernet Task Force (http:/
/grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/3/ae/) in 1999 to develop a standard for 10-Gigabit Ethernet
interface. The standard is planned for completion in Q1, 2002 (See Figure 10).
27
Source: IEEE
Figure 10. Timeline for 10-Gigabit Ethernet Standard
The goal of this group is to adapt the work done by the 802.3z for developing the 10 Gigabit
Ethernet specications. Within the specications, two physical interface specications (PHY)
will be developed. The LAN PHY is targeted for 10Gb/s transmission across dark bre and
transparent WDM systems, and the WAN PHY will be developed for compatibility with the
existing SONET/SDH infrastructure. The WAN PHY will operate at a data rate compatible to
the payload rate of an OC-192c/STM 64c interface. Both multi mode and single mode type
of bres will be supported. For multi-mode bre, link distance will be up to 300m. For single
mode bre, link distance varies; up to 2km for short reach; 10km for intermediate reach;
and 40km for long reach.
Supporting the IEEE 802.3ae group is an industry alliance, 10 Gigabit Ethernet Alliance3,
10 GEA (www.10gea.org) that was formed to facilitate and accelerate the introduction
of 10-Gigabit Ethernet into the networking market. The Alliance will support the IEEE
activities by fostering the development of the 10-Gigabit Ethernet standard and promote
interoperability among 10-Gigabit Ethernet products.
Resilient Packet Ring (RPR). SONET/SDH is inefcient in bandwidth utilisation for

transporting IP trafc. While packet over SONET improves the efciency, it does not provide
ring protection functionality to ensure high resilience in the ring during outages. This leads
IEEE to form the 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring Working Group in Dec 2000 to develop
specications for addressing these shortcomings. RPR technology is being standardised
under the LAN/MAN Standards Committee (LMSC), which is a part of the IEEE.
RPR is gaining rapid momentum within the industry and will play a critical role in offering
service providers the ability to create high-speed metropolitan networks that transport voice
and data trafc efciently while lowering both capital expense as well as ongoing operational
expenses. RPR, a Layer 2 media access control (MAC) technology, signicantly increases
the bandwidth efciency of service provider networks by utilising twice the capacity
of traditional SONET/SDH rings. RPR delivers dynamic bandwidth management while
preserving the same kind of protection and resiliency found in SONET/SDH networks.
3
10 GEA was founded by networking industry leaders such as 3Com, Cisco Systems, Extreme
Networks, Intel, Nortel Networks, Sun Microsystems, and World Wide Packets.
28
The IEEE 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring Working Group, RPRWG4
(www.ieee802.org/17) specications dene enhanced control mechanisms at the MAC layer

for protection and bandwidth management. RPR has several unique characteristics that
make it an ideal platform for delivery of data services in metro networks:
Dual counter rotating rings. The RPR standard will support a dual counter-rotating
ring topology for spatial reuse of bandwidth, allowing multiple messages on the ring
simultaneously;
Destination stripping of unicast trafc. The destination node will remove packets
from the ring that are destined for it;
Multi-cast trafc. The RPR standard will support multicast trafc;
Protection Switching in less than 50ms. Network resiliency with protection
mechanism of sub-50ms fail-over as rapid restoration of service is an important
requirement for service provider networks;
A fully distributed access method without a master node. This requirement
insures that each node on a ring is capable of functioning without the presence of any
other particular node on the ring.
Several vendors have implemented their concept of RPR. Cisco Systems and several
equipment vendors, such as Nortel Networks, Luminous Networks, Lantern Communications
have already developed their own solutions. The IEEE working group hopes to eventually
unify these solutions into one common standard. Cisco has already submitted its DPT
technology based on Spatial Reuse Protocols (SRP), specied in the IETF RFC 2892 to
the IEEE 802.17 Working Group for consideration as part of the upcoming standard. The
working group plans to achieve a standard by Mar 2003 (Figure 11). The clear benets
of RPR technology suggest that pre-standard products will be in widespread use before
the standard is completed. A working baseline draft RPR standard has been agreed by the
working group in Jan 2002.
Source: IEEE
Figure 11. Timeline for 802.17 Resilient Packet Ring
4
RPR Working Group has more than 90 companies regularly participate in the working group. The
group includes leading vendors such as Alcatel, Cisco Nortel, NEC and Lantern Communications.
29
Supplementing and supporting the IEEE 802.17 effort is an industry advocacy group called
the Resilient Packet Ring Alliance (www.rpralliance.org) promoting the standardisation
of RPR technology. Founded in Jan 2001, its mission is to nurture and help develop
abroad market by promoting the proliferation of Resilient Packet Ring into the broadly
denednetworking market, including LAN, MAN, and WAN. The RPR Alliance will play an
important role in communicating the RPR message to the world, building consensus for the
RPR standard, and ensuring interoperability among RPR vendors.
2.3.7 ITU Standards Development on Passive Optical Network (PON)
Broadband Passive Optical Network (BPON). This standard is commonly referred

as ATM-based (APON), and its development is spearheaded by the Full Services Access
Network5 (FSAN) consortium. It denes a basic set of common requirements for broadband
access systems to support a full range of integrated broadband and narrowband
services. The wavelength window in the recommendation species the 1550nm region for
downstream and 1310nm region for the upstream direction. The specication was adopted
by ITU as G.983.1 in Oct 1998. A related PON management and control interface standard
(G.983.2) was later issued in 2000. In Mar 2001, the enhanced Recommendation G.983.3
was completed. It denes a new wavelength allocation by specifying a narrower portion
for the downstream window. This portion, referred as basic band, is used for transporting
APON downstream signals and the spectral width of 20nm makes it cost effective for
using conventional distributed feedback laser diodes. An additional waveband, known
as enhancement band, is specied with 2 options available i.e. 1539-1565nm and
1550-1560nm.
Another two draft standards for increasing the efciency and survivability of bre access
networks were later adopted by ITU in Nov 2001. G.983.4 species a Dynamic Bandwidth
Assignment (DBA) mechanism which improves the efciency of the PON by dynamically
adjusting the bandwidth among the ONUs, for example, in response to bursty trafc
requirements. G.983.5 species a number of protection options for PONs which will enable
enhanced survivability. Table 4 summarises the BPON standards development.
5
FSAN is an international initiative of 21 telecommunication operators working together with equipment
suppliers. As of November 2001, its members includes Bell Canada, Bell South, Qwest, SBC, Verizon, BT,
DTAG, Eire, FT/CNET, KPN, Malta, SwissCom, Telefonica, Telia, TI/CSELT, Bezeq, Chunghwa, KT, NTT,
SingTel and Telstra. For more information, please visit FSAN website: http://www.fsanet.net/
30
Table 4. BPON Standards Development

BPON Description Details Status
G.983.1 Broadband optical Describe the optical layer, transmission Approved
access systems convergence layer, and ATM layer for BPON Oct 1998
based on Passive systems
Optical Networks
(PON)
G.983.2 ONT management Specifies operations channel protocol and Approved
and control interface message set (OMCI) between the BPON OLT Apr 2000
specification for and the ONT
ATM PON
G.983.3 A broadband optical Defines new wavelength allocations to distribute Approved
access system with ATM-PON signals and additional service signals Mar 2001
increased service simultaneously; new reference points and optical
capability by interface parameters; & new environmental
wavelength allocation conditions required for the ONU equipment
G.983.4 A broadband optical Specifies a Dynamic Bandwidth Assignment Additional
access system with (DBA) mechanism which improves the efficiency Review
increased service of the PON
capability using
dynamic bandwidth
assignment
G.983.5 A broadband optical Specifies a number of protection options for Additional
access system with PONs which will enable enhanced survivability Review
enhanced for fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTCab) and fibre-to-
survivability the-office (FTTO)
G.983.7 ONT management Describes the ONT management and control Approved
and control interface interface (OMCI) specifications required for the Nov 2001
specification for DBA Dynamic Bandwidth Assignment (DBA) function
B-PON system in a BPON system, building on G.983.2
Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON). The IEEE is also working on this standard
under its Ethernet in the First Mile, EFM (www.ieee802.org/3/efm) Study Group. When
the standards complete, service providers would be able to deploy a faster and lower cost
network, and support more users than APON technology. Since its formation in Dec 2000,
the Study Group has identied several key objectives that will be used to evaluate technical
proposals for the 802.3ah Task Force. The project timeline is shown in Figure 12.
31
Figure 12. Timeline for Ethernet in the First Mile
Targeting for completion in 2003, the standard will dene operations, administration,
and maintenance (OAM), which include remote failure indication, remote loop-back, link
monitoring, and support of three subscriber access network topologies and physical layers:
Point-to-point copper over the existing copper plant at speeds of at least 10Mb/s up to at least
750m;
Point-to-point optical bre over a single bre at a speed of 1Gb/s up to at least 10km;
Point-to-multipoint bre at a speed of 1Gb/s up to at least 10km.
32
33
3 PHOTONICS ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES
34
3 Photonics Enabling Technologies
PHOTONICS ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES

This chapter outlines the development trends for some of the important enabling
technologies in relation to optical communication systems. The availability of advanced
photonic components and subsystems is viewed as an important milestone in the
deployment of the next generation optical network for many carriers. Their recent
developments have been particularly strong as seen from the intense research and
development activities that are ongoing in the academic and corporate laboratories around
the world.
Today, the state-of-the-art photonic systems are lled with technological breakthroughs in
many areas; from a wide array of fundamental material technologies, to a list of innovative
techniques in component design, subsystem architecture and simulation & modelling tools.
Going forward, a number of general issues such as component standardisation, design for
manufacturability (for high yield, high volume, low cost), multi-module multi-technology IC
integration, automated assembly & packaging, as well as design for higher reliability are
viewed pivotal for photonics to enter the mass adoption phase.
The market setting. In 2001, we have seen a decrease in capital spending by most
carriers, and some holding back their timeline to upgrade or rollout planned networks. As
a result, most equipment vendors are left with an overstock of inventories, and are more
concerned now to rst deplete their accumulated inventory. Due to the lack of demand from
system builders, several component suppliers have been forced to implement dramatic cost
cutting measures in the near term. According to some industry feedback, the components
market in North America will complete its inventory depletion by second half of 2002.
Thereafter, the demand for components from equipment vendors and carriers will pick up
and might also introduce demand for new optical components and subsystems for next
generation systems. As such, some component vendors are now restructuring themselves
and investing in research and development of new optical technologies.
Technology classication. The wide array of optical component and sub-system

technologies can be classied in Figure 13.
Switching
Amplification/
Transmission Multiplexing & Signal Demultiplexing Detection
Regeneration
Management
Figure 13. Functional Block Diagram for Optical Communication Systems
35
3.1 OPTICAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES
The functional blocks above are further detailed in Figure 14.
Multiplexing / Amplification /
Transmission
Demultiplexing Regeneration
Laser Source Multi / Demultiplexer Optical Amplifier
- Fixed wavelength (DFB, VCSEL, - Thin film - Erbium doped fibre amplifier
Fibre laser, High speed pulse - Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) (EDFA)
laser) - Arrayed Waveguide Grating - Erbium doped waveguide
- Tunable wavelength (DBR, (AWG) amplifier (EDWA)
External Cavity) - Diffraction Gratings - Raman (distributed, discrete)
- Pump (Edge Emitting, VCSEL) - Semiconductor optical
- Array amplifier (SOA)
- Thulium doped fibre amplifier
(TDFA)
- Optical parametric amplifier
Modulator Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer Regenerator
- Electro Absorptive (EAM) - Static - Optical-electrical-optical (OEO)
- Electro-Optical (EOM: - Dynamic - All optical 3R
Semiconductor, Lithium
Niobate, Polymer)
Related components Interleaver Related Components
- Laser temperature and current - Pump laser and controller
controller - Pump combiner
- High speed laser diode driver - Isolator
- Modulator driver - WDM coupler
- Gain flattening filter (GFF)
Optical Switching Signal Management Detection
All optical Dispersion compensator Photodetector
- 2-D MEMS - Chromatic dispersion (CD: - PIN
- 3-D MEMS fixed and tunable) - Avalanche
- Bulk Mechanical - Polarisation mode - MSM
- Electro-optic (bulk) dispersion (PMD) - Detector array
- Electro-optic (waveguide)
- Thermo-optic (waveguide)
- Frustrated Total Internal
Reflection (FTIR)
- Holographic
- Bubble
- Acousto optic
- Liquid crystal
- SOA array
Electrical-optical-electrical Variable optical attenuator Related Components
(VOA) - Preamplifier
- Fibre (thermal optic, - Clock recovery and data
electro-optic, magneto- regeneration circuit
optic)
- MEMS
- Planar (thermal optic)
Related components WDM channel monitor
- MEMS driver - Wavelength
- Transceiver - Power
- Electronic switching fabric - Optical signal to noise ratio
(OSNR)
- BER
Figure 14. Technology Classication
36

3.1.1 DWDM
I) Technology Overview
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a technique that uses many different colours
(wavelengths) of laser light to transmit different streams of data over optical bres in
a telecommunication network at the same time. Combining a few wavelengths of up
to 32λ on a single bre is relatively straightforward and related equipment has been
commercially available since 1996. This is sometimes referred to as Sparse Wavelength
Division Multiplexing (SWDM). Currently, up to 160λ can be achieved. This is referred to as
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM). The ongoing effort is now concentrated
on putting even more wavelengths on a bre, and this is sometimes called ultra-DWDM.
II) Technology Developments, Issues & Challenges

Much research in this area is preoccupied with developing photonic components that could
work at higher data rates, wider optical bandwidth, closer channel spacing and higher
spectral efciency through a variety of innovations. The aim is primarily to achieve higher
capacity and better reliability for the next generation optical transmission system. Figure
15 summarises four key research areas and their respective challenges in order to drive
optical transmission capacity towards multi-terabits-per-second.
Figure 15. R&D & Commercialisation toward Higher Transmission Capacity
37
Closer Channel Spacing. Higher transmission capacity can be achieved by increasing the
density of multiplexing, i.e. narrowing the separation between adjacent optical signals from
the standard 100GHz and towards 12.5GHz in the future. To pack more channels in the
much narrower spacing, researchers will have to overcome a series of technical challenges.
Amongst these challenges include narrow bandwidth and low crosstalk optical lter design
and laser diode wavelength stabilisation. One approach to alleviate the requirement on
optical lter design is to use interleavers together with optical lters. This allows closer
channel spacing and at the same time provides a smooth upgrading path. Currently, we are
beginning to see more commercial WDM products using channel spacing of 50GHz. More
25GHz channel spacing WDM system is envisaged to enter commercialisation in the near
term, while 12.5GHz system would not be available anytime soon.
Higher Data Rate, 80-160Gb/s. The light beam sent from the laser diode transmitter
must be modulated at a higher speed in order to increase the data rate of a single optical
signal. This means that the circuit driving the modulator must be capable of running at
speeds greater than the current maximum of 40Gb/s. American, European and Japanese
component manufacturers are competing to develop modulators and drive circuits needed
to accomplish this. Material technologies such as Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) and Indium
Phosphide (InP) are used for this application because they can be driven at high speed.
Another way to increase the speed of a single wavelength beyond 40Gb/s is to use Optical
Time Division Multiplexing (OTDM). It combines different stream of optical signals of the
same wavelength via optical means into a high data-rate bit stream. Companies such as
NTT and Nortel Networks are actively pursuing OTDM technology. OTDM runs electronic
circuits such as modulators and drivers in parallel, modulating optical signals at a given
frequency with small differences in timing, then multiplexing them into light. With four
circuits in parallel, each modulating at 40Gb/s, an optical signal with a capacity of 160Gb/s
would be generated. OTDM can be used together with WDM technology to increase
the overall capacity of the network. However, due to difculty with synchronisation and
complexity in the multiplexing and demultiplexing system, OTDM is still not widely used
except in some test and measurement systems. Statistical OTDM is also known as optical
packet switching. It enables a better utilisation of the capacity provided by a single
wavelength channel. True all optical packet routing may however be many years away, as
the technologies to recognise optical packet headers and to process them have only been
demonstrated in the labs.
Wider Optical Bandwidth. Currently C-band (1530-1565nm) and L-band (1570-1610nm)

are widely used in optical communication. The third waveband, S-band (1480nm-1530nm)
is also being explored. With a wider bandwidth to multiplex optical signals, the number
of wavelengths can be raised, thus increasing the transmission capacity. Using any
wavelengths other than the current C- or L-bands, however, will make it difcult to maintain
long-distance performance due to losses of optical bre. To keep performance in long-
distance transmission, optical bre ampliers based on Er doping are now used to increase
the transmission distances for C- and L-bands. Er has the property of amplifying optical
signals in frequencies around the C-band, but not in the S-band. These optical bre
ampliers however are necessary in the transmission path to amplify attenuated optical
signals to make long-haul networks possible. Therefore, Raman amplier and other new
types of ampliers such as Thulium doped bre amplier have to be used to make S-band
transmission possible.
38
Higher Spectral Efciency. Another way to increase the transmission speed over a given
optical bandwidth is to increase spectral efciency i.e. to pack more bits into a given optical

bandwidth. This can be achieved using new coding scheme such as duobinary coding
and multilevel signalling. However, these require more complex signal processing at the
receiver. For example, multilevel signal detection may be required. This not only implies
more complex electronics, but also reduced noise margin.
WDM, DWDM, and their future technological advancement, ultra-dense wavelength division
multiplexing (UDWDM), have allowed the transmission capacity of optical bre to increase
rapidly.
Figure 16 envisages the development trend in WDM transmission capacity over the next
ve years. Initially, WDM allowed the number of wavelengths carried on a single bre to
quickly increase from 8 to 16 to 32λ. With DWDM, the gure has risen to around 160. Soon,
UDWDM will up the ante even more, supporting about 400 wavelengths. The state-of-the-
art now is between 80λ to 160λ on a single bre. By 2003, we envisaged that 256λ would
be achievable, employing 10Gb/s and limited 40Gb/s data rates using TDM. It is expected
that upward of 1000λ would eventually become possible by 2006, using mostly 40Gb/s
data rates. This will permit a dozen of terabits-per-second of data to be transmitted over
a single bre. Beyond this timeline, we postulate that OTDM would start its initial phase of
deployment into the optical space with the introduction of 80/160Gb/s data rate systems.
90s 2000 2003 2006

Overall
Transmission
Capacity 20Gb/s 1 to 5 Tb/s 5 to 10 Tb/s >10 Tb/s
TDM Line TDM (2.5Gb/s) TDM (2.5 to 10 Gb/s) TDM (10 to 40 Gb/s) TDM (40 Gb/s)
bit-rate
OTDM Line OTDM

bit-rate (>80Gb/s)
Channel 200GHz 100 to 50GHz 50 to 25GHz 25 to 12.5GHz

Spacing
Operating band C band C, L band C, L band C, L,S band

No. of Channel (8 to 40 ) (up to 160 ) (256 to 400 ) (up to 1000 )
Figure 16. Development scenario of commercial WDM Systems
Most commercial DWDM systems6 today can offer up to 1.6Tb/s. At the same time,
experimental trials7 from NEC and Alcatel have already achieved 10Tb/s region in a single
bre over more than 100km, employing a total of 273 wavelengths.
6
Few examples:
Lucent’s WaveStar™ OLS 1.6T (www.lucent.com/businesspartners/clp/webcast/010403.html);
Marconi’s SmartPhotoniX™ UPLx160™ (www.marconi.com/html/news/marconiintroducessolitonbas
edultralonghaulsystem.htm);
Nortel Network’s OPTera Long-Haul 1600 (www.nortelnetworks.com/products/01/optera/long_haul/
1600/index.html)
39
The market for DWDM equipment can be generally considered pessimistic in 2001 but
reasonably optimistic thereafter according to Cahners In-Stat Group. In the long-haul
market, In-Stat reported a 22-24% decline for 2001 as compared to 2000. A single digit
growth is however expected in second half of 2002 for the long-haul market. Despite the
economic downturn, the market for this network segment will continue to be robust. China
would continue to provide much needed impetus for growth for Asia. The more popular
practical demand for metro DWDM systems in the next 5 years will gear towards 10Gb/s
and 40Gb/s optical systems. In-Stat foresees a good DWDM market from 2002 to 2005.
The total long-haul and metro DWDM global market is forecasted to be worth US$16 billion
in 2005.
3.1.2 Soliton Transmission
In conventional DWDM transmission system, optical ampliers are used to boost the optical
signals, typically every 60 to 100km. However, every one to two thousand kilometres,
optical signals need to be fully regenerated to remove the effects of noise and other
transmission impairments. Without all optical regeneration, which is still very difcult at the
moment, we need a lot of expensive equipments to convert the light to electrical signal
so that each wavelength channel can be process individually. One way to extend the span
between regenerators is to use soliton transmission. Solitons are light pulses that maintain
their shape even when transmitted over very long distances. They actually leverage on the
non-linear effects that occur in the bre, self-phase modulation (SPM), and on the linear
effects, chromatic dispersion, to offset each other resulting in enhanced performance.
Put simply, solitons are an alternative efcient method of encoding or modulating a digital
signal over long-haul system.

Continual research has yielded newer and more practical variations of solitons. One
variation, called dispersion-managed soliton, retains the benet of attaining long reach
transmission of classical soliton while improving spectral efciency and compatibility with
the wide range of bre types in use today. As a result conventional DWDM system
can easily be upgraded to soliton-based DWDM system without changing the network
architecture. The only change is a drastic reduction in the number of regenerators. This
is particular suitable for long-haul transmission system. Since if there is no regenerator in
the transmission system, the capacity can easily be increased by adding soliton signalsat
different wavelengths without the need to change anything in between. Experimental
soliton systems have achieved all-optical transmission distances of 20,000 km, more than
twice the Trans-Pacic distance.
7
NEC Press, 22 March 2001: http://www.nec.co.jp/english/today/newsrel/0103/2201.html &
Alcatel Press, 21 March 2001: http://www.alcatel.com/vpr/?body=/latestnews/21032001uk
40
Solitons have many other real world advantages over more traditional modulation methods.
For example, solitons could be used to increase transmission speed up to 40Gb/s, or

OC-768, and possibly beyond. This is due to its resistance to chromatic dispersion (CD)
and polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) which are major limiting factors in high-speed
optical transmission systems. A single wavelength soliton transmission at 80Gb/s had been
demonstrated. This could make a good alternative for carriers whose installed base of bre
could not easily support high number of DWDM channels.
There are several challenges that remain in the near term which must be addressed before
solitons can be applied effectively. A major challenge is that enabling the functioning of
solitons involves working with a signal that is signicantly more intense than typical existing
systems. This translates into a shorter amplier spacing of between 10 to 50 km, which is
one of the major practical problems of soliton transmission. A high power gain to maintain
the soliton effect is probably not what the service providers would wish for in its effort to cut
costs. There are also other issues, such as the development of rened control techniques
capable of separating solitons by several times their pulse width so as to enable practical
applications in a telecommunication system. The ability to master and regulate slight
differences in soliton amplitudes is also important. In addition, to harness the exceptional
transmission speed of solitons, researchers must be able to create synchronous amplitudes
as well as phase modulation with optical ltering. As soon as these specic issues
are resolved, a new generation of transmission based on soliton waves could become
practical.
Being a relatively new technology, there are fewer market gures to share. Few soliton-
based commercial products are only starting to enter the market. Marconi UPLx160,
a soliton-based technology which offers a capacity of 1.6Tb/s; 160 wavelengths at
10Gb/s per wavelength for up to 3,000km without signal regeneration. Lucent and Nortel
Networks are also lining up commercial soliton-based products.
3.1.3 Optical Regeneration
In an optical transmission system, an optical signal is attenuated and distorted due to
attenuation, dispersion, crosstalk and non-linearity associated with optical bres and other
components in the system. Since the effects are accumulative, optical signal regeneration is
needed. Three types of regeneration are possible: 1R (re-amplication), 2R (re-amplication
& re-shaping) and 3R (re-amplication, re-shaping & re-timing). Currently 1R is generally
done optically while 2R and 3R are carried out using O/E, E/O converters and electronic
regenerators. With the increase in transmission speed in a single wavelength, especially
when OTDM is used more widely, there is a greater need for all these to be done optically.

1R regeneration. A simple form of regeneration is amplication. It restores the signal level
and can be easily accomplished using various types of optical amplier. The amplication
is not dependent on bit rate and data format, and all the WDM channels can be amplied
simultaneously. However, crosstalk is also amplied and noise is added.
41
3.2 ACTIVE COMPONENTS & SUB-SYSTEMS
2R regeneration. Another level of regeneration is amplication and reshaping. It

suppresses crosstalk and noise such as amplied spontaneous emission (ASE) noise
introduced by optical ampliers. A decision element with a threshold function is required.
Currently it is typically done electronically through the use of O/E and E/O conversion and
electronic regenerator. It is also possible to do it optically through the use of saturable
absorber or SOA based interferometer. However, the technology is still not mature enough
to be used in commercial systems. No matter optical or electrical 2R regeneration is used,
WDM channels have to be regenerated individually.
3R regeneration. Like all the other digital communication systems, ultimately 3R

regeneration (amplication, reshaping and retiming) is necessary over a certain transmission
distance to eliminate the signal degradation. If 3R signal regeneration interval is small
enough, complete error free transmission is possible. In commercial systems this is now
done electronically. To do it optically, optical clock recovery and decision circuit needs to
be implemented. The decision circuit will be a nonlinear gate. Recovered optical clock is
used to sample the data stream through the nonlinear gate. Since the switching window
of the data driven gate is larger than the pulse width of the optical clock, jitter of data
and switching window are not transferred to the transmitted clock pulses. The shape of
the regenerated pulses is dened by the shape of the clock pulses. Mode locked laser,
self-pulsating DFB laser and Fabry Perot optical lter can all be used for clock recovery
function. While mode locked laser, self-pulsating DFB laser, active optical interferometer
and nonlinear optical loop mirror can be used as decision circuits. All techniques have been
demonstrated experimentally, however, they are still in the early stages of research. It will
be a few years before the system can be commercially viable.
3.2.1 Lasers
All optical networks require extensive use of optical transmitters and receivers (or integrated
as transceivers). These comprise laser transmitters and photo-detectors respectively.
A laser is a device that creates and amplies a narrow, intense beam of coherent light.
Ever since its inception, various types of lasers have emerged, from the conventional gas
lasers to solid-state to the emerging tunable diode lasers. Currently, lasers operating at
wavelengths around 850nm, 1310nm and 1550nm are used for bre optic transmission
systems while pump lasers at 980nm and 1480nm are used in optical ampliers. A trend in
the development of laser technology is to reduce the cost of laser so that it can be used
more widely for access and data communication applications. This has been led by the
development of VCSEL technology.
The common lasers used are either edge emitting lasers or surface emitting lasers.
Regardless of the type of lasers preferred, a clear trend in laser technology points towards
wideband tunability and cheaper tunable lasers for optical networking in the C- and
L-bands, as compared to current xed wavelength lasers. The tuning methods normally
used vary from current driven (DBR lasers), to motor driven and more complex MEMS
technology (VCSEL and External Cavity lasers).
42
II) Technology Developments
In early generation optical communication systems, Fabry-Perot semiconductor lasers

with multiple longitudinal modes operating at 1310nm and 1550nm are used. They are
subsequently replaced by distributed feedback lasers (DFB) with single longitudinal mode
operation thus narrower linewidth. This is necessary since DFB laser is more suitable for
high speed and long distance transmission due to lower dispersion penalty introduced. The
development of DWDM transmission system has further enhanced the role of Distributed
Feedback (DFB) laser due to the requirement for lasers with well dened wavelength. At the
same time various wavelength stabilisation and locking techniques have been developed.
Current trend is moving toward development of tunable lasers. This offers the potential to
implement tunable transmitters that are of obvious benets to optical networking systems.
Instead of having to maintain an inventory of spares for each channel or port, service
providers would be able to stock a few tunable transmitters that could be used to replace
failed parts. Sparing is just one potential application of tunable products. More exciting
is the prospect of remote service provisioning of the network. This would allow service
providers to remotely change the wavelengths utilised by a specic customer to provide
bandwidth-on-demand. The potential cost and performance benets of such an approach
are enormous. Tunability today is narrow-band limited to about 4 to 20 wavelength
channels, while wideband tunability in the future could reach 80 to 100 wavelength
channels in the C- and L-band. Two general categories of tunable laser technology will be
discussed here.
Table 5. Types of Tunable Laser Technologies
Laser Technology Types

Edge Emitting types Monolithic Cavity types:
• Fabry Perot lasers
• Distributed Feedback lasers (DFB) & DFB array lasers
• Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) lasers & DBR array
lasers
External Cavity types:
• External Cavity Laser (ECL)
• MEMS
Surface Emitting
types Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs)
Distributed Feedback (DFB) laser. This is an edge emitting laser technology widely
used in xed wavelength and narrow-band tunable lasers. The tuning is by temperature
variation. It is a proven technology with the most mature repeatable fabrication process,
hence low cost and also provides wavelength stability. It has high optical output power
and is the preferred source for most DWDM optical transmission systems and networks.
However its tuning range and tuning speed are limited.
Distributed Bragg Reector (DBR) laser. In this technology, a grating in the passive
region is coupled with a reective surface on each end of the laser cavity. Tuning is via
an electric current to the passive region that changes the refractive index of the medium.
The fabrication process is also established but more expensive and lower yield than DFB
lasers, as they require more expensive separate chip testing. Its higher speed tuning, wide
tuning range and low power consumption are some of the advantages for it to be used as
a wideband tunable laser. However, due to mode hopping, it is unable to cover all channels
43
on the ITU grid. It also suffers from wavelength instability, that hopefully, with technology
maturity, we will see better performance enhancements.
External Cavity laser (ECL). The tuning is achieved using mechanical means i.e. by
adjusting the physical length of the laser cavity, hence tuning the wavelength of the output
beam. ECLs comprise of a separate external gain cavity, hence its name. The advantages
of this technology include high optical output power (favouring long-haul), wavelength
stability, continuous tuning and low noise. However, it may be bulky and has lower tuning
speed.
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL). These are surface emitting lasers
with a vertical laser cavity. VCSEL can use MEMS as mirror to reect light, and can
be electrically or optically pumped. The advantages of VCSEL technology are its low
manufacturing costs and can be easily integrated with other devices. However, current
VCSEL products still have lower optical output power and slower switching speed when
compared with other competing edge emitting laser technologies. Hence most VCSELs are
currently used in MANs.
Researchers have been working for years to create laser that works like LED, emitting light
out of the wafer, perpendicular to the surface. Instead of coated mirrors on the cavity,
it uses epitaxial layers grown on the wafer to create mirrors on the surface with LED
sandwiched in between. These epitaxial layers can create lenses to focus light into a tight
cone, perfect for coupling to bres. There are in fact varied structures of VCSEL diodes
available - planar proton implanted, index guided ridge waveguide, hybrid mirror, intro
cavity, lateral oxide, native oxide, wafer bonded, but so far only proton implanted, ridge
waveguide and oxide conned structures are available commercially.
One of the biggest advantages of VCSEL is that testing can be done prior to dicing, a major
saving in cost during manufacturing. A completed wafer can be tested in a wafer probe
machine, where each device is contacted by microscopic electrical probes and current
applied. If it is good, it can be seen on a camera and measured. Thus good devices can be
detected before the wafer is diced and bad ones marked automatically for discard.
Another advantage of VCSELs is that their size and light emitting properties are suitable to
build inline and 2-D laser-diode arrays. The inline array is useful as the source for parallel
optical interconnects, which use a at cable similar to copper at cable but with optical bre
in place of copper. This type of cabling has applications in short-distance chassis or board
interconnects and can provide a system designer with high aggregate data rates.
However, VCSELs are not yet available at the most popular wavelengths for optical
communication. 850nm & 980nm VCSELs are now commercially available, but the
1310nm/1550nm devices are just being developed in labs. We expect the latter to be
commercialised from earliest 2003. Also, there is a need to develop VCSEL for high-power
applications, which currently can only be met by edge emitting laser diodes.
Market Outlook. Despite cautioning on the slowdown of the component market, several
consultancy rms have forecasted favourable market sizes for tunable lasers. According to
the Yankee Group, the worldwide market for tunable lasers would be worth US$413 million
in 2003, and US$2.3 billion in 2005.
44
Narrowband Tunable Lasers. Alcatel Optronics, JDS Uniphase, Nortel and Bragg
Photonics are shipping DFB lasers while Agere and Marconi are shipping DBR lasers. Many

of these tunable lasers are still considered narrow-band. Some equipment and system
vendors like Fujitsu are already shipping equipment based on these narrowband tunable
lasers in their DWDM products. Others like Ciena expect to do so in mid 2002 while currently
actively testing with both narrowband and wideband tunable lasers. The market today,
according to CIR, is still mainly dominated by DFB lasers, which make up almost the entire
market for tunable lasers in 2001, but projected to drop to about 80% market share in
2002.
Wideband Tunable Lasers. ADC and Agility are shipping wideband tunable lasers while
Marconi’s products would be available in mid 2002. Bragg Photonics is also developing
wideband tunable lasers based on DFB lasers. Iolon is shipping External Cavity lasers
while New Focus is in sample production of such lasers. Blue Sky Systems, a subsidiary
of Blue Sky Research in the US, has developed programmable lasers for generating ITU
wavelengths, based on a high-power, low-cost 1550nm laser diode with a proprietary
compact external-cavity design. This provides a high power, high tuning speed, wideband
(C- & L-band), small size and low-cost laser. Initial samples with 10-15mW and millisecond
tuning speeds from Blue Sky Research will see the light in 2002. Bandwidth9 is in pilot
production of VCSEL tunable lasers while Nortel is in sampling production of tunable lasers
based on VCSELs.
3.2.2 Optical Ampliers
An optical signal experiences attenuation as it propagates through an optical bre. Hence,
an optical transmission system must be carefully designed to ensure that there is adequate
signal strength for detection at the receiver end. We will discuss various optical amplier
technologies in the following sections.

Erbium-doped Fibre Amplier (EDFA). Direct optical amplication via EDFAs was
rst developed to replace the need for costly electrical regeneration of an optical signal.
Carriers can realise savings not only by reducing the amount of TDM equipment required,
but often by eliminating the need to build intermediate regenerator sites with their
associated power, climate control, maintenance, and security costs. In recent years, the
EDFA has evolved into a low cost enabling technology for DWDM as the market demand for
capacity grows. The following EDFAs are discussed:
Silica-based EDFA. Amplifying a DWDM signal with a traditional silica-based EDFA

poses some technological challenges due to the fact that the gain curve is not at over
the desired operating band. This resulted in some channels retaining a relatively strong
optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR), whereas others, especially in the 1540nm region,
encounter serious signal to noise erosion. This degradation can be so severe that these
channels no longer offer an adequate OSNR. Gain equalisation to atten the gain has
to be carried out;
45
Fluoride EDFA, the Flat Gain EDFA. The usable bandwidth in a long cascading
chain of EDFAs can be signicantly increased by using ampliers with atter gain
spectrum. For systems that require 100 or more channels, designers have to make use
of the complete C- and L-bands. There are two basic approaches to attening the gain
spectrum. The rst approach involves tailoring the material properties of the erbium-
doped bre, either with the addition of extra dopants such as aluminium, or going to an
altogether different host material, such as uoride-based bre instead of silica. While
aluminium co-doping broadens the gain, the main peak at 1530nm still remains. With
high power ampliers that require multiple pumps, each amplier might need a new
bre design, adding to time, cost and uncertainty;
On the other hand, the main problem with uoride-based bre is reliability issue.
Fluoride-based bre is sensitive to moisture and is very difcult to splice onto standard
single mode bre. One other performance drawback of the uoride EDFA is the higher
noise gure, a result of being pumped at 1480nm. There are ways to overcome this
inherent weakness and vendors are beginning to offer next generation uoride EDFAs
that provide both at gain and low noise gure.
Other Gain Flattening Techniques for EDFA. Besides doping, another approach is
to use an external gain-attening lter. The principle of gain attening is conceptually
quite simple: lters are designed to approximate the inverse characteristics of the EDFA
gain spectrum. The effectiveness of any gain at lter is therefore dependent on the
degree to which it can approximate the inverse gain characteristics. Since the gain
curve of an EDFA depends on the input power, in an optical network environment where
channels are added and dropped dynamically, dynamic gain equalisation and control
are required. We will elaborate more on the application of gain attening lters for
optical ampliers in the passive components section.
Thulium-doped Fibre Amplier (TDFA) in S-Band. The number of channels available

in the existing bandwidth regions (C-band and L-band) for optical communications is
already near saturation. In search for new regions, the S-band has been viewed as a
promising candidate, pending the development of products covering this region such as
light sources for measuring & testing, and more efcient optical ampliers. Doping with
Tm in the S-band is attracting much attention as it offers similar optical amplication as
Erbium (Er) in the C- and L-band. Tm is a rare earth located next to Er in the periodic
table. With Tm, it is possible to build an optical bre amplier that functions in the S-band,
and research into this eld is under way at NTT, NEC and Hitachi. For information, NEC
implemented 85 channels in the S-band in addition to the 92 channels in the C-band and 96
channels in the L-band to achieve a world record 10.92Tb/s transmission over more than
100 km. The key problem with Tm is its rarity, and some in the industry are concerned with
obtaining a stable supply of Tm.
Raman Amplication. Raman amplication is another optical bre amplication

technology that can also handle S-band, without relying on elements such as Tm. Unlike
Er and Tm, Raman amplier can be used in all wavebands. In addition, its ability to
provide distributed amplication results in an improved signal-to-noise ratio performance and
reduced bre non-linearity effects. Raman amplier has been studied long before EDFA,
however, it has only been used in practical systems recently. This is mainly attributed to the
development in high power bre laser, high power diode laser and pump combiners. Raman
amplier uses the transmission bre itself as the amplication medium. Gain is created
46
due to the conversion of the pump photon to the signal photon, with the simultaneous
production of an optical phonon which is the atomic vibration. The efciency is typically

low (25% compare with about 80% of EDFA). As a result, high pump power in the range
of a few hundred mW to a few watts is typically required. Raman amplication spectrum
depends on pump wavelength and pump power and can span from 850nm to 1600nm.
Gain equalisation can easily be achieved through the use of a few pump sources at different
wavelengths combined together using a pump combiner. By adjusting pump wavelength
and pump power of each laser, a at gain over a wide wavelength range can be achieved.
It enables ultra long-haul and high bit-rate transmission system. However, due to cost
reasons, mixed systems may be used with Erbium doped ampliers at 1530nm region as
EDFA technology is currently cheaper.
Other amplication techniques that attract much development interests are Erbium Doped
Waveguide Amplier (EDWA) and Semiconductor Optical Amplier (SOA). EDWA
uses a few centimetres of highly doped optical waveguide as the gain medium. It can
provide a few dB of gain with a noise gure less than 5dB. Since it can be integrated
with other components resulting in a compact size, it has very good potential to be used
in metropolitan area optical networks. SOA provides good single channel amplication.
However, crosstalk and higher noise have prevented it from being used for multichannel
WDM signal amplication. In WDM system, it is mainly integrated with the receiver as an
optical preamplier. It may also be used in WDM optical add/drop nodes to amplify each
wavelength channel to provide gain equalisation and control. It will nd many applications
in metropolitan and access networks. In addition, it is also a single most important
component for non-linear applications such as wavelength conversion.
Gain Control of Optical Ampliers. Another issue concerning optical ampliers in

general is the control of the output power of such devices. Optical ampliers are usually
coupled with variable optical attenuators (VOAs) that serve to regulate their output power
via tunable gain control. The trend is to produce ampliers with integrated VOAs. The
tuning speed of VOAs is in the order of milliseconds in many current systems. However, in a
DWDM system, if we encounter breakdown in one of the channels, the gain of this channel
is distributed to the remaining channels in nanoseconds. This would result in saturation
since the VOAs might not be fast enough to regulate the ampliers. Hence, there is product
development interest to look into gain tuning systems that can operate in nanoseconds
for optical amplication. Different optical control schemes such as optical feedback control
have been studied for this application.
Market Outlook. Optical ampliers are mostly used in long-haul and more recently in
metropolitan area networks, hardly in access network. Cahners In-Stat Group estimated
that the worldwide market size for such ampliers, based on long-haul and metropolitan
area markets, was about US$3.3 billion in 2001 and projected the gure to rise to US$4.7
billion in 2006. Their estimation consisted of new installations, spares, anticipated upgrades
to existing systems and the timing of such upgrades. To enable fast adoption of optical
ampliers in the metropolitan area network, one important concern is to reduce the cost.
This may be achieved through the use of uncooled pump laser in EDFA and through
integration of some of the components used in EDFA. Other technologies such as EDWA or
SOA may also help to reduce the cost. A few vendors are marketing EDWA now.
47
3.2.3 Optical Switching
Optical switching or routing refers to the re-directing of an optical signal from one network
node to another node. To reach a destination, the signal carrying information hence travels
or switches through a series of nodes that then make up the optical path taken by the signal
from point A to point B. Two main approaches can be used to implement an optical switch
to direct an optical signal from a given input port to a given output port:
Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO switching). As opposed to OOO switching or rout-

ing, an optical signal coming to the input port of an optical switch has to be converted to
an electrical signal for conventional electronic switching equipment to understand this
signal, and then reconverted to optical signal for re-transmission to the outgoing port.
It is also known as an opaque switch because an optical signal cannot pass through
an OEO switch without being converted into an electrical signal. This approach offers
the advantages of being able to use existing electronic switching technology and the
ability of providing 3R regeneration whenever optical signal passes through the switch.
However, it does not provide bit rate, service and protocol transparency;
All Optical Switching or (OOO switching). An all optical switch uses all optical
means to direct the optical signal from the input port to the output port without chang-
ing it to electrical signal. Various technologies can be used to implement the optical
switching fabric. It is also known as a transparent switch. It provides bit rate as well as
service and protocol transparency. However, it does not offer complete signal regenera-
tion and based on current technologies switching speed is still low and size is small.
An optical switch can be used for circuit switching (lambda switching), burst switching and
packet switching. In lambda switching optical signal is directed from the input port to the
output port based on its wavelength. The connection is typically long and the switching
time required is in the order of sub-millisecond. Optical circuit switching network is the
form taken by almost all the optical networks now. Optical switches are used in such
networks in a few application areas:
Protection Switching. It refers to the automatic switching between bre links, when
we encounter for example a breakdown in one of the links. 1x2 optical switch with mil-
lisecond switching speed is typically required;
Optical Cross Connect (OXC) or Photonic Cross Connect (PXC). It allows the
optical wavelength at an input port to be connected to the same wavelength (or dif-
ferent wavelength if wavelength conversion is used) of an output port for provisioning
and reconguration of light paths. It is used as an interconnect device between differ-
ent WDM ring networks or to create optical mesh backbones. Electrical signals provided
by the GMPLS control plane are used to control the switching fabric (OOO or OEO) to
provide dynamic lambda switching. Optical switches with large port count are required
for this application;
Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (OADM). The function of an OADM is basically similar

to the electrical SONET ADM used today, except that only optical wavelengths of light
are added and dropped. It is generally used in a point to point WDM optical link to
48
terminate and reuse an optical wavelength or used in ring based optical network to add
or drop wavelength connections.

Optical burst and packet switching are forms of statistical optical TDM. In the former, the
goal is to set up the wavelength connection for the duration of a data burst. Burst data
need to be buffered at the input of the switch while the wavelength connection is being
set up. Very fast switching is required. This is still not easily done all optically (OOO). One
possibility is to use SOA arrays. Optical packet switch is essentially the optical equivalent
of a electronic packet switch. It needs to read optical header and switch optical packet at
very high speed. Both input optical buffer and output optical buffers are required. Although
researchers have demonstrated all optical burst and packet switches, they are still not prac-
tical today because it is still extremely difcult to recognise or read optical packet headers
via entirely optical means. At the same time no good way to buffer optical signal is available
today. True all optical packet switching is said to be at least 10 years away for commerciali-
sation.
We see a gradual evolution from OEO based switching to all optical based technologies. At
present, most of the commercially available large-scale optical switching systems use OEO
approach. In this approach, the optical signal must undergo conversion to an electrical data
stream to be switched by traditional electrical switching fabric and then converted back to
optical signal and retransmitted. The consequence of such conversion is data latency. The
technique is also limited to certain data rate and format.
With the growth of DWDM and mesh networks installed base, there is also a need to
manage huge number of wavelengths and fast connection reconguration. Furthermore,
optical switches should aim to switch at the same line rate of the input signal channels
at the input ports, thus saving on the cost of multiplexer banks that break the signals
into slower rates for switching. This requires that optical switches move towards all optical
switching.
49
Table 6. The Changing Face of Switching Technologies
Technology Characteristics Market Players

OEO switching • High scalability compared to early OOO switches but • Numerous players;
may not be able to handle future demands of high • Current dominant
number of OC-192 or OC-768 ports; market technology;
• Easy grooming of signals; • Examples of equipment
• ICs for OEO switches are cheaper now and reliable vendors backing this
with mature silicon and GaAs technologies; technology: BrightLink
• Slow hence limited dexterity for operators to Networks, Ciena, Cisco,
optimise networks for real-time traffic flow. Tellium, Lucent,
Detrimental delays of possibly microseconds to Sycamore Networks.
hundreds of milliseconds;
• OEO results in higher number of network equipment
required, hence more costly networks;
• Incapable of handling non-standard signal formats
and data rates.
OOO switching • Data transmitted and routed at light speed over • Mainly innovative new
longer distances, ideal for real time traffic on packet start-ups since mid-
switched networks, less signal regenerators needed; 90’s with patented R&D
• Enables the full potential of DWDM to be exploited capabilities supported
such as possibility of wavelength based services by venture capitalists
since optical switches are wavelength & format and some acquired by
transparent; incumbent MNC
• Lower power consumption with some OOO switches telecommunication
than OEO switches; players & dominant
• Much faster service provisioning for service providers equipment vendors;
to differentiate themselves, handy for unpredictable • Industry with high
bandwidth demand from customers who come and growth rate with
go; significant presence
• Enables fast restoration & fault recovery (from since 2000;
minutes to milliseconds), enforcing Quality of • See detailed list of
Service Agreements; vendors under chapter
• Frequent reconfiguration needed in mesh networks is on market potential.
better accomplished with optical switches than for
example SONET switches and add-drop multiplexers
in terms of time and cost savings;
• Overall network infrastructure & operational cost is
lower;
• Multi-technologies integrated ICs such as opto-
mechanical-electronic ICs are less mature than
traditional Si & GaAs ICs;
• Presently lacking in embedded network intelligence,
non-intrusive optical signal monitoring & grooming
for correction of transmission impairments.
The path towards all optical switching necessitates further research work in the areas of:
Non-intrusive optical signal monitoring & grooming for correction of transmission
impairments;
Technology for implementing optical switching fabric with large port count, low
insertion loss and reliability;
50
Optical buffering (memory) so that burst switching and optical packet switching can
be implemented;

Large optical switching fabric with sub-nanosecond switching speed for optical
packet switching.
Meanwhile, we expect OEO technology to continue to be in the mainstream optical

switching market for the next few years. However, we also see the aggressive emergence
of near all-optical switches providing cost efcient alternative to routing, reducing number
of network components required and hence overall huge cost savings for networks among
other advantages such as instant fault recovery and reconguration. At the same times,
many vendors are also providing hybrid solution combining the advantages of both OEO
and OOO technologies.
Today, most optical switching products such as those based on Micro-ElectroMechanical

System (MEMS) are deployments in long-haul backbones. Over the next few years, we
would see the gradual popularity of MEMS products entering metropolitan area network and
possibly access networks in the longer term.
On the side of optical add-drop technology, we saw that the rst generation of OADMs were
mainly inexible systems that can only access a xed set of predetermined wavelengths.
The next generation of OADMs will encompass dynamic conguration and provisioning. This
will allow the network to select any subset of wavelengths/channels to add and drop at a
particular location. Dynamic conguration increases network exibility and response time,
and it will allow service providers to provide bandwidth-on-demand services to clients.
The following describes the common technologies in optical switching or add-drop systems.
This is followed by a comparison between them. Different applications would look for
different performances offered by one or another of these technologies.
Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS). MEMS is a surface technology

that involves the micro-machining of existing silicon wafers to perform mechanical
movements upon command by an electrical actuation voltage or in response to external
environmental inputs such as acceleration, pressure or gravity, to achieve electrical or
optical functions prevalent in modern day communication systems. MEMS micro-mirror
switching is probably the most promising technology and we expect it to be the leading
product in optical switching. In a MEMS optical switch, the micro-mirrors tilt back and
forth, slide in and out, or pop up and down to reect or transmit optical signals;
Optomechanical switches or precision bulk optics. In this approach, light beams

are shifted from one bre input to another bre output via mechanical alignments with
possibly motor engines. It is a mature approach that gives robust connections, low loss
and low cross talk. However, it is large, bulky, clumsy, slow and not cost effective;
Optoelectronic solid state waveguide switches. This is also a mature technology

leveraging on solid state waveguide manufacturing processes combined with optical
technology based on for instance Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The device material
used in such switches can range from silicon, lithium niobate, indium phosphide, and
barium titanate (early R&D stage). A signal’s passage into a waveguide is controlled
by an electrical bias that creates a propagation delay by modifying the waveguide’s
refractive index. This change in the speed of the light signal results in a change in its
51
phase. Depending on the phase change, the signal is switched between two output
ports. The main advantage of such switches is its extremely fast switching speeds in
nanoseconds, a unique feature that allows this technology to maintain its foothold in
research and commercial interest. It is also easily integrated with other solid state
circuit functions. The disadvantages are polarisation dependent, high insertion loss,
poor crosstalk performance for wideband channels, high operating voltages, and fairly
costly. To have a signicant change in phase requires long travel paths, hence limiting
the size of such switches to about 40 ports. Large size switches require the cascading
of a series of smaller waveguide switches resulting in high signal loss. Hence, it is not
scalable to large switch sizes;
Thermo-optical switches. Based on the same principle as the above, the speed
of light in the waveguide is not changed by an electrical bias but by changing the
temperature of the material that the light signal passes through. Materials such as
polymer are often used;
Liquid crystal switches. This approach uses an electrical bias to modify the
orientation of the crystal elements, which in turn affects the polarisation of light beam
that is allowed to pass through or that will be reected. Two orthogonally splitted
polarisations can be directed to two different output ports, hence perform a switching
function;
Bubble switches based on total internal reection. This is a technology idea

based on inkjet printing. When a light beam passes from one medium of higher
refractive index into one of lower refractive index, above a critical angle of incidence,
it can be totally reected. This change in refractive index can be brought about by
introducing a uid (air or liquid) bubble at the junction of intersecting waveguides,
hence reecting or switching light into the desired output waveguide or the absence
of such a bubble can allow light to pass through unobstructed into another output
waveguide;
Bragg grating switches based on holographic principles. In this approach,

crystals are being laser etched with Bragg grating structures to create a hologram
that reects changes in optical properties of the crystals when an electric eld is
applied. Materials such as ferroelectric crystals in lithium niobate or potassium lithium
tantalate niobate. Crystals are arranged in a matrix of rows and columns in a 2D
manner corresponding to input and output ports. Insertion loss and crosstalk are main
concerns.
52
Table 7. Comparison between Optical Switching Technologies
2 0 0 2
Holographic
Opto-Mechanical / Opto-electronic Total Internal
Switches
MEMS Precision Bulk Solid State Liquid Crystal Reflection (e.g.
F e b r u a r y
(e.g. Bragg
Optics Switches Bubble Switch)
Gratings)
Maturity of • Medium but mature • Mature • Mature • Medium • Medium • Mature
technology fabrication process
CMOS compatible
Scalability • Limited with 2D • Very low scalability • Low, up to about • Low • Low (to about 100 • Low
MEMS to about 40 ports ports)
R e l e a s e
64x64 ports
• Higher scalability
with 3D MEMS to
thousands of ports
Switching • in microseconds • in milliseconds • in nanoseconds • in milliseconds • in milliseconds • in nanoseconds
speed (hundred’s) (hundred’s) (ten’s)
Other • Low cross talk, low • Low loss and cross • Dependent on • More suitable for • Trade off between • Low power
R o a d m a p
technical insertion loss, talk signal polarisation singlemode than low loss and high consumption
53
performance independent of as most waveguide multimode fibres isolation required. • Polarisation and
wavelength/ bit devices • Fairly low loss, high • Wavelength- wavelength
rate/ polarisation & • High insertion loss isolation, lower dependent phase dependent, hence
modulation formats • Poor crosstalk power consumption shift caused by dispersion and loss
• Low power performance • Requires bubble and hence
consumption • High power polarisation splitter amplitude
T e c h n o l o g y
consumption • Suffers from PMD, dispersion in signal
moisture sensitivity output
and thermal • High power
fluctuations consumption
Robustness • Medium • High • High • High • High • High
& Reliability
Packaging • Present new • Bulky • Easily integrated • Inconvenient but • Some degree of • Easily integrated
challenges with solid state ICs with some recent precision required with other
I n f o c o m m
• Lightweight advancements functions such as
signal equalisation
and monitoring
Cost • Low • Costly • Fairly costly • Costly • Low • Low
3.3 PASSIVE COMPONENTS & SUB-SYSTEMS
Market Outlook. According to Pioneer Consulting, the optical switch market has a
potential value projected to be worth more than US$10.40 billion worldwide by year 2004.
The market is further expected to grow at an average rate of 40-60% per year. Silicon
MEMS-based optical switch is expected to have a 90% market share by 2002.
We would see the highest growth area for optical switches in the metropolitan area
networks. Communications Industry Researchers (CIR) reported that current main
technologies getting the most market share are OEO, MEMS, liquid crystal and bubble
switch technologies. OEO will persist over the next ve years, while MEMS will eventually
overtake OEO in long-haul, metropolitan and access networks. Opto-Mechanical and other
solid state switches will continue to coexist, but with lesser market share over the next ve
years.
Some of the market players in the different segments of optical switching are depicted
below:
Table 8. Market Players in Optical Switching
Total
Opto- Holographic
MEMS Solid State Liquid Crystal Internal
Mechanical Switches
Reflection
• Alcatel (partners with • Agilent • Alenia • Chorum • Agilent • Trellis
OMM) • Alloptic • Crisel Technologies • Alcatel Photonics
• Astarte & Texas • AMP Instruments • Corning • NTT • Civcom
Instruments • Astarte • Fibreoptic • SpectraSwitch • Optical
• Avici • DiCon Switch Switch Corp
• Blue Sky Research • Hitachi • JDS Uniphase
• Calient Networks Telecom • Lighthouse
• Ciena (acquired Alta, • Inrange Digital
Lightera, Omnia) Technologies • NTT
• Cisco (acquired Pirelli, • JDS Uniphase Electronics
Monterey Networks, • LIGHTech • Optical
Cerent, StratumOne) Fiberoptics Switch
• Corning IntelliSense • Lightwave • Photonic
• Cronos (acquired by Link Integration
JDS Uniphase) • LightPath Research
• Juniper Technologies • Physical
• Lucent (acquired • Litton Optics Corp
Nexabit, Ascend) • Newport Corp • Sorrento
• Marconi • OptiVideo Networks
• Nortel (acquired Xros, • Seiko • Systran
Qtera, Coretek) Instruments • Triquint
• Onix Microsystems
• Optical Micro-
Machines (OMM)
• Siemens (partners
with OMM)
54

3.3.1 Connectors
In optical communication systems and networks, one important task is to interconnect
optical bres. This can be achieved using either splicing or connectors. Both fusing splicing
and mechanical splicing are used currently. They provide very low loss permanent joint but
are not very exible and need skilled labour to do it. Connectors provide a good alternative
and are reasonably low loss. In the past, most of the telecommunication equipment
manufacturers use FC connectors. Today, carriers use several types of connectors in
different sections of their networks. SC, FC and ST connectors are still widely used.
However, recently developed Small Form Factor (SFF) connectors have been widely used in
switching hubs or with other transmission equipment where port density is critical.
Connectors are still evolving and are almost always application sensitive. As a general rule,
the following applies:
SMA. This is the oldest type of connector and almost always used with 50 and 62.5um
cable. This type of connector is mainly used for military equipment/applications;
ST. This is a twist-on connector and mainly used with multi-mode bre;
FC. This is the second generation twist-on connector and used with both single and
multi-mode bre (62.5 and 9um);
SC. This is a snap-in connector used widely in data communication equipment for
duplex transmission.
All connectors require great care in assembly and connection to prevent reections that
create optical “kinks”, degrading performance. Connector quality is one of the most
important factors affecting the performance of an optical transmission link. Good quality
control is necessary. This normally requires the absence of any visible defect on the end
face. Connector kits and polishing jigs are required for installation and test equipment, such
as “Optical Time Domain Reectometer” (OTDR), used to measure kinks, reections and
other cable anomalies to determine quality of the link.
SFF connectors have been developed in recent years. It uses 1.25mm ferrules instead of
the 2.5mm ferrules used commonly in SC, FC and ST connectors. Its small form factor
enables equipment manufacturers to build more ports into the same sized box. There are a
number of SFF connectors that are widely used. These include LC, VF-45, MT-RJ and MU.
Eventually probably one of these will emerge as the dominant one. Low loss and low cost
will be key features to determine the winner. Development work is also ongoing to design
new connectors with improved port density and lower cost.
Market Outlook. Bishop & Associates forecasted that worldwide connector shipments
to the optical network equipment market amounted to US$650 million in 2000 of which
US$81.3 million accounted for shipments to optical component manufacturers. By 2004, the
global market for connectors to optical network equipment is projected to attain US$1.29
billion.
55
SONET transport equipment in this forecast is the largest connector market for optical
equipment, accounting for US$313.8 million in 2000. Digital cross-connect equipment
represents the second largest category of connector consumption with factory shipments
valued at US$87.2 million in 2000. Gigabit switch/routers are third in line with factory
shipments valued at US$80.7 million in 2000. PON equipment is the fastest growing
category of connector consumption.
3.3.2 Dispersion Compensators
When data pulses transverse the bre, they are normally affected by chromatic dispersion
(CD). This is due to the fact that optical signals at different wavelengths propagate
at different speeds. At intervals along the bre, it is necessary to insert dispersion
compensators to compensate for this dispersion. They are typically placed at the same
location as optical ampliers. The impact of chromatic dispersion rises approximately as
the square of the increase in data rate. At 10Gb/s every 70km of standard single mode
bre (SMF) requires compensation. At 40Gb/s, this is reduced to 4.4km for SMF and
about 19km for non-zero dispersion-shifted bre. In addition, the amount of dispersion
at different wavelength is different. This is referred to as dispersion slope. As a result,
dispersion compensators not only have to compensate for chromatic dispersion, but also
the dispersion slope. Otherwise, one WDM channel may be compensated exactly, but other
channels may be over or under compensated.
Another source of optical signal distortion is polarisation mode dispersion (PMD). It arises
from the fact that all bres have a slightly elliptical cross-section and is therefore slightly
birefringent. As a result the two polarisations of the optical signal will travel at different
speeds. PMD changes with time since the magnitude of the birefringence changes slowly
with time due to temperature effects. This is an additional problem especially for high-
speed optical transmission system such as 40Gb/s system and above.

There are several techniques for minimising the chromatic dispersion problem. Amongst
them, dispersion compensating bre (DCF) and chirped Fibre Bragg Gratings (FBGs) are
the most widely used. DCF has high value of dispersion of the opposite sign as normal
transmission bre. To compensate for the dispersion over an 80 km span of standard bre
12-16 km of DCF is typically used. However, DCF suffers from high level of attenuation
and high level of non-linearity. These may affect the performance of a DWDM network.
In addition, it is difcult to use it to compensate for dispersion slope which is dispersion
different for different wavelengths.
Chirped FBG is a popular alternative to DCF. Due to the chirping of the grating period,
different wavelengths will be reected at different locations of the grating thus compensate
for the difference in propagation delay introduced by the transmission optical bre. With
proper design of the grating prole, it can also be used to compensate for dispersion slope
which is one of the major problems in a high speed DWDM system. Current dispersion
compensators used in systems are all xed. However, there is great need for these
compensators to be tunable. This will enable system designers to have a better inventory
management. They can use the same tunable compensator for different lengths and
designs of optical bre. In addition, tunable compensators are also needed in recongurable
56
optical networks as the optical signals in such networks propagate through variable
length of optical bre. At high data rates, tunable compensators will also enable exact

compensation of the dispersion.
Commercial tunable dispersion compensators are already available from a few vendors. A
few approaches are used which include non-linear chirped FBG and compensator consists
of two quadratically chirped FBG of opposite direction of chirp. The main concerns with
FBG-based system are the tuning speed and delay ripple. Other possibilities include planar
lightwave circuit (PLC), liquid crystal and virtually imaged phase array. Efforts are also given
to design remotely adjustable (tunable) dispersion compensator module (DCM). Currently
most carriers only require relatively low channel counts for live trafc. As such, the need for
tunable compensators is not immediate. Current xed compensators system could satisfy
market requirements. However, as we move toward higher channel counts and higher data
rates (40Gb/s and above), there is a potential market opportunity for tunable dispersion
compensator products.
PMD problem can be solved using two approaches. One approach is through better bre
design. All new bres manufactured do not have any problem with PMD for up to 40Gb/s.
Another approach is through PMD compensation. PMD is much more difcult to compensate
since it is variable. A few possibilities are available. One is to use bre by moving the
polarisation axis and setting the delay line. Another is to use micro-optic approach based
on waveplates or fast opto-ceramic switches. Non-linearly chirped FBG, PLC and lithium
niobate based approaches have also been demonstrated. A number of vendors have
demonstrated PMD compensators, although the market size and the actual demand are still
unknown.
3.3.3 Optical Filters
Optical lter is probably one of the most important components in WDM optical
communication systems and networks. It is used for WDM signal multiplexing and
demultiplexing. It is also used for WDM channel monitoring, noise ltering and gain
equalisation. A number of technologies are available for the implementation of an optical
lter. Among them are: thin lm lter, reective grating, Fabry-Perot interferometer, FBG,
arrayed waveguide grating (AWG), Mach-Zehnder interferometer and fused biconic coupler/
lter. Tunable lters are also a disruptive technology that could enable low cost metropolitan
deployment of WDM based networks. Other popular tunable technologies include tunable
Fabry-Perot lter and tunable acousto-optic lter.

Thin lm lters and bre Bragg lters were among the earlier technologies whereas AWG
lters are later developed to allow better manufacturing scalability.
Thin lm lter is probably the most widely used lter for DWDM optical communication
system now. It uses many thin layers of dielectric materials, with alternating high and
low index of refraction that give the lter its desired wavelength dependent reection and
transmission characteristics. It has a good performance and high temperature stability.
However, it is difcult to be used in WDM systems with high channel number due to
increased insertion loss. In addition, it is limited to system with channel separation of
57
100GHz and above, although using it together with interleaver enables it to be used in
systems with much narrower channel spacing.
Fibre Bragg Grating lter is a wavelength selective, reective lter with a steep spectral
prole. The optical bre is a stretchable medium. As one stretches the bre with the grating
inside, the period size of the index perturbations and the effective refractive index will
be changed which would induce a corresponding shift in the Bragg wavelength. This has
the effect of changing the center wavelength of the lter. If the stretching is far below
the elastic limit, this process is perfectly linear and recoverable. In fact, many grating
manufacturers have used this effect to form the temperature compensation packaging
for WDM and dispersion compensation. Tunable lters can also be made based on FBGs.
The main challenge in making tunable lters out of FBGs is to achieve high speed (sub
nanosecond) tuning for applications such as optical header recognition for all optical
routing.
AWG lter uses an array of optical waveguides in which the lengths of adjacent
waveguides differ by a xed amount, from one waveguide to the next. This variation results
in a wavelength dependent diffraction pattern that is similar to the one from a plane
grating. This diffraction pattern is then arranged so that different wavelengths illuminate
different output bres. It is highly integratable and can be integrated with other component
such as variable optical attenuators (VOA) or laser in WDM system with high channel
count. The main drawback is the requirement for temperature control. However, recent
developments in compensation techniques using polymer and athermal polymer AWG
have partially solved the problem. FBG offers a low insertion loss and a good ltering
characteristics. With athermal packaging FBG is also highly stable with temperature change.
It enables a exible a number of add and drop channels when used in an add/drop
multiplexer. The possibility of tuning over a wide range also allow it to be used in a number
of other applications.
Filter technologies are also used in important applications such as for gain attening in
optical ampliers, described as follows:
Gain attening application of lters for EDFAs. In recent years, gain attening lters
have been proposed in several different technologies, these include fused tapered bre
lter, acousto-optic tunable lter (AOTF), thin lm interference lter, FBG and twin core
bre:
Fused tapered bre lters are made by heating and pulling certain segments of the bre
and causing part of the core mode to become lossy cladding mode. The original bre
diameter and strength is thus seriously compromised. For a complex multi-peak gain
prole, it is difcult to maintain yield by heating and pulling various sections of the same
bre. Most people used tapered bre lter only to remove the 1530nm peak. A related
technology is to use twin core bre with wavelength dependent coupling between the
two cores. However, this may still prove to be challenging;
AOTF can be effective in dynamically attening the gain to adapt to signal add-drops in
the network. One disadvantage however remains with AOTF, due to the index difference
between single mode bre and AOTF’s substrate material, lithium niobate, a typical
58
device suffers very high insertion loss (in excess of 3 dB). This loss affects all channels
and basically offset the gain in the ampliers. In addition, packaging such a device

is a challenge and costly, the technology involved is similar to that of 2.5G to 10G
modulators. Recently, bre based AOTF has been proposed and demonstrated. It has
solved the problem associated with insertion loss, but reliability is still a concern;
Thin lm lters have high engineering costs of development and questionable high
power handing ability;
For bre gratings, there have been several contenders: long period gratings, blazed
gratings and standard short period gratings:
i) Long period gratings are periodic structures formed in the core of a photosensitive
bre. Unlike their short period counterpart, the refractive index perturbations have a
period size much larger, in the order of 200 to 400 microns. Long period gratings are
extremely temperature sensitive and have fast decay characteristics. Commercial
deployment has remained relatively limited;
ii) Blazed gratings consist of a tilted grating structure. The tilt angle is normally below
8º to 9º and has the function of coupling the core mode into various lossy cladding
mode. While the advantage of blazed gratings is the absence of direct reection,
making these can be a good challenge. As the tilt angle becomes large, other non-
linear effects appear;
iii) Short period gratings seem to be most promising. They are passive, can be used
in the transmission mode and can be tailored to atten the entire C-band of 35nm.
Although there are some reections, most amplier designers will deploy an isolator
into the amplier. This is to avoid reections from the splicing of other optical
components: the pump signal WDM, SMF to Erbium-doped bre and monitoring tab
couplers.
59
3.3.4 Optical Fibres
Optical bres can be Single Mode bres (SMFs) or Multimode bres (MMFs). Three major
“windows” of wavelength are commonly used in conjunction with these bre types. The
850nm window is normally used with the MMF. 1310nm window is used for both types,
while 1550nm window is used almost exclusively with SMF. This is the point of minimum
attenuation in conventional optical bre (See Figure 17).
SMFs are distinguished from MMFs by their much thinner core diameter i.e. typically 8
to10 micron for SMF vs 50 to 62.5 micron for MMF. Due to their excellent low loss feature
(as low as 0.2dB/km), SMFs are used mainly in long-haul transmissions at wavelengths of
1310nm and 1550nm. MMFs can carry hundreds of modes of light and are more common
in short distance transmissions such as local area networks, for lower bandwidths ranging
from 10MHz/km to 600MHz/km. They suffer from higher loss of 2 to 60dB/km and transmit
typically in the range of 660 to 1060nm.
Figure 17. Typical Fibre Attenuation Characteristics
SMF solutions are often associated with higher costs than MMF solutions when we take
into account the related connectors, splices, test equipment, transmitters and receivers.
The alignment accuracy needs to be more stringent for SMFs and this greatly increases its
assembly time compared to MMFs. In addition to these, other SMF designs are available
with features that make them attractive for particular applications, such as undersea
transmission.
The ITU today recognises four types of single-mode bres. Their characteristics and
applications are briey summarised in the following table.
60
Table 9. Characteristic of Optical Fibre Types

Type of Optical Fibre ITU Characteristics & Applications
• Most widely used fibre type;

Dispersion Unshifted G.652
• Introduced commercially in 1983;
Fibre (USF)
• Zero chromatic dispersion at 1310nm;
• High chromatic dispersion (approx. 17ps/nm-km) at 1550nm;
(sometimes called
beyond 2.5Gb/s require the use of dispersion compensation for
standard or
long-haul;
conventional fibre)
• Used commonly for high-speed digital and CATV-type analog
systems operating in both the second and 3rd wavelength
windows (see Figure
Figure 17)).
17
• Commercially available since 1985;
Dispersion-Shifted Fibre G.653
• Minimum chromatic dispersion wavelength adjusted to
(DSF)
1550nm, the region of minimum optical attenuation;
• Non-linear effects is an issue;
• Used for submarine systems, where a single wavelength is
transmitted over several thousands of kilometres. Some long
distance carriers have installed significant quantities of DSF in
terrestrial backbone routes;
• Can also be used in the 2nd window, but no commercial
demand due to high chromatic dispersion near 1310nm.
• A special type of USF with very low loss for the 1550nm
1550-nm Loss- G.654
window, typically <0.18dB/km;
Minimised Fibre
• Using pure silica glass in the fibre’s core and deeply down-
doping the fibre’s cladding, and maintaining a high cut-off
wavelength;
• Difficult to fabricate, expensive and rarely used;
• Use in non-repeatered submarine systems to enable
transmission over long distances without intervening active
components.
• Commercial production in 1993 by Lucent, called TrueWave
Nonzero-Dispersion G.655
fibre;
Fibre
• Standardised by the TIA, ITU, and IEC;
• Minimum (to suppress the four-wave mixing fibre non-linearity)
and maximum (to ensure chromatic dispersion is small for high
channel rates) amount of chromatic dispersion specified over a
portion of the 3rd window;
• Used in the latest generation of amplified DWDM systems
extensively for both submarine and long distance terrestrial
networks.

Today, optical bres are already developed into highly rened products. Yet leading
manufacturers such as Corning, Alcatel and Lucent still actively pursue its development.
Their aim is to develop lower loss and lower PMD bres that could potentially handle high-
speed long distance DWDM transmission systems. Some key development trends of optical
bre include:
Very wide bandwidth bre for higher transmission capacity;
Large effective core area bre for higher optical power while mitigating non-linear
effects;
61
3.4 ADVANCED OPTICAL & MEMS PACKAGING AND AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING
Multi-cladded bre for dispersion attened structures;

Dispersion compensating bre with lower loss and lower non-linearity;
Fibre with lower polarisation mode dispersion for ultra high speed transmission
systems
The development of different types of optical network has created a need for the design
of optical bre for different applications. For example, a bre with negative dispersion
has recently been developed for the MANs market. This allows directly modulated laser
to be used in the system since the dispersion created by the chirp of direct modulated
laser can easily be compensated by the negative dispersion of the bre. This will enable
great cost saving. Other developments have mainly been focusing on specialty bres,
such as dispersion compensation bre, double cladding bre for high power bre laser,
photosensitive bre for FBG writing and rare earth doped bre for amplication.
There are also plastic bres as the cheapest bre solution with good mechanical strength,
but with high losses of 150 to 250dB/km and for low bandwidth application of 5MHz
over 60m, as such, these are not really found in telecommunications due to poor
performance. Plastic technology remains today more for R&D in the lab. Most optical bres
for telecommunications use glass materials (silica). An intermediary between glass and
plastics is plastic-clad silica that has a glass core with a plastic cladding. This type of bre
experiences typical losses of 6 to 10dB/km, for bandwidth applications of up to 25MHz/km,
and operates at wavelengths ranging from 660nm to 1060nm. However, it is difcult to
connect such bres and they are also unstable.
An exciting new development in the area is photonic crystal bre or sometime called holey
bre. It is an all silica optical bre with a hexagonal array of air holes typically sub-micron
in diameter spaced apart by a few microns running along its length. Guiding cores are
created in these two dimensional photonic crystal arrays by lling in or enlarging groups of
one or more air holes. It possesses a number of unique and even extraordinary properties,
permitting a much greater level of control of modal behaviour (effective index, single mode
range, modal area and shape, group velocity dispersion) than is conceivable in conventional
bre technology.
For example, photonic crystal bre (PCF) can be designed to be single mode at every
wavelengths of excitation. This enables us to design single mode bres with zero dispersion
at any arbitrary wavelength. It provides us with the possibility to design dispersion
compensation bres for different operating wavelengths. At the same time, this offers the
possibility of mode overlap for light of different wavelengths in the bre; this enables
the improvement of non-linear interaction such as four wave mixing (FWM) greatly. The
possibility of greater light intensity and loading holes with gases, low index liquids or non-
linear polymers permits well controlled non-linear interactions over unlimited lengths of
bre. All these give us the potential for implementation of all optical switching, FWM and
Raman laser operation. Current research is still being carried out in the lab. However,
it presents many challenges to be overcome, such as the need for precise alignment
and joining of these bres. Nevertheless, work on optical bres and related equipment &
machinery remains a possible R&D area for future efforts.
62
3.4 ADVANCED OPTICAL & MEMS PACKAGING AND AUTOMATED
MANUFACTURING

Advanced optical packaging techniques of opto-electronic, photonic and MEMS/MOEMS
(Micro-Electro Mechanical System/Micro-OptoElectro Mechanical System) devices are
perhaps the most important enabling technology to the optical industry, as it accounts
for the majority of nal product cost. Opto-electronic devices handle both electronic and
optical/photonic signals (e.g. optical transmitters and receivers), while photonic devices
handle photons (e.g. light emitters, detectors, Bragg gratings). MEMS/MOEMS devices
combine electronic, mechanical, optical signals (e.g. MEMS optical switch, MEMS optical
add-drop multiplexers).
The packaging process exerts great inuence on the product’s manufacturing yield &
quality, size and weight, electrical & optical performance, mechanical & thermal reliability,
shock resistance, repeatability, maintainability, testability and can even contribute to
environmentally friendly products with lead-free solders and halogen-free materials.
In review, the manufacturing industry at large has progressed from advanced electronic
packaging (QFP, CSP, BGA, ne pitch ip chip, multi-chip packages, 3D vertical interconnects
of 2 to 128 layers etc) to low cost, high density, compact, high power advanced RF
packaging that could involve micro-machining, free space power combining techniques,
multi-chip packages, 3D interconnects and photonic bandgap crystals for manipulation &
processing of light. Much of the impetus for advanced RF packaging came from military
programmes (such as major waves of funding from DARPA) with technology transfers to the
commercial industry, but is also partly due to the advent of commercial wireless products.
The next lap would be to research and automate on optical packaging as we enter the
age of next generation optical networks for the Internet, free space optics transmission,
and many other commercial optical products in the areas of medicine, entertainment,
displays etc. To achieve quantum leap performances, skills and new technologies need to
be developed in the area of reliable packaging techniques that can seamlessly integrate
complex multi-disciplinary expertise encompassing digital electronics (logic, memory etc),
RF analogue, MEMS, optics and even nano-technologies to deliver world class system-
on-chip products. In commercial optical modules such as optical detectors, transmitters,
40Gb/s optical modules, there is often a need to do co-design with microwave transitions
and interconnects (e.g. differential pair signalling I/Os, microwave interconnects such as
more advanced and increasingly popular coplanar waveguides). Co-design with thermal
management such as with thermoelectric cooling modules in optical transmitters is also
necessary. There are also critical skills needed in the areas of reliability and shock testing &
analysis, assisted board and system level simulation & analysis, power plane analysis and
modelling that are also playing a part to hasten the design process and to make robust
products with good quality control.
The birth of DWDM technology has enabled terabits of information to be transferred through
optical bre over thousands of kilometres. Optical networking component manufacturers
are competing to churn out their latest products that boast of higher channel counts, higher
modulation speeds and higher level of integration. Packaging of these components become
even more challenging when optical devices and interconnects are being miniaturised.
Similar to electronics packaging, optical and opto-electronics packaging can be categorised
63
into different hierarchies as shown in Table 10.
Table 10. Dening Optical Packaging Hierarchy and Levels of Interconnects

(Source: Institute of Microelectronics)
Design & Fabrication of Optical Devices cum Interconnects

Level 0:
Interconnect level 0: Active & Passive Devices
4 e.g.: semiconductors, optical emitters & detectors
Materials & Processes for Waveguides/Interconnects :
8 component assembly including optoelectronic/O-E modules
Level 1: (sub micron positioning, active alignment, bonding, welding)
Interconnect level 1: Packaged Devices
4 e.g.: packaged semiconductors & optical devices
Module & Board Assembly & Test
8 O-E/ E-O module development, integration of levels 0 to 2.
(fibre splicing & management, connectors, solder attach, reliability test according to Telcordia
Level 2: standard)
Module & Board Assembly
Interconnect level 2:
4 e.g.: line cards, optical amplifiers, optical add-drop multiplexers
(OADM), optical crossconnect
s
System Assembly & Test
8 Optical backplane & box level test
Level 3:
Interconnect level 3: System Assembly
4 e.g.: box level, backplane
Package assembly and test constitutes a large proportion of the nal product cost and
for most of today’s optical and opto-electronic devices, the manufacturing process is not
only highly customised to a particular product, but it is also very labour intensive and time
consuming. Many products suffer from low manufacturing yields and quite often the high
yield loss can be traced back to poor package designs.
Optical and Opto-electronic packaging introduces many unique challenges which do

not exist in the packaging of electronic integrated circuits. These include the seamless
integration of high speed electronics or microwave devices with photonic devices, the
design of a stringent thermal environment in which many optical devices need to operate
in, the stability of the optical properties of packaging materials with respect to time and
temperature, the lack of standardised reliability tests for many types of optical components
and of course the highly time consuming process of aligning optical interconnects and
devices. Fortunately, some of the advanced packaging technologies used for electronics
packaging can be adapted to address these challenges.
According to Cahners In-Stat, three major manufacturers (W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.,
Agilent Technologies, & Mitel Corporation) formalised on 12 Feb 2001 a Multi-Source
Agreement expected to set an industry standard for next-generation parallel bre-optic
transmitter and receiver modules, the former using VCSEL technology.
Standardisation in packaging, optical and electrical interfaces for component modules to
64
enable multiple supplier sources to customers is still new to the advanced next generation
optical market and denitely requires more effort and goodwill between the players in this

industry. Similar effort for standardisation for Small-Form-Factor (SFF) bre-optic connector
packaging has also been reported. We see however today only sporadic pockets of alliances
for standardisation, for example in the US. New 40Gb/s systems and components could also
benet from standardisation.
3.4.1 Optical-Electronic (OE) Integration
At this moment All Optical Networking seems to be a distant goal and some form of
optical to electrical signal conversion (and vice versa) is necessary in the optical network,
especially at the edge. At the package level, optical and electronic/microwave systems
must be integrated in a seamless fashion for optimised performance. This typically involves
the matching of characteristic impedance in passive interconnects, such as the microwave
transmission lines leading to the photonic devices and the matching of velocities of
microwave and optical waves in active interconnects such as electro-optic modulators.
As the transmission speed of networking components increases from a few gigabits to

tens or even hundreds of gigabits, the package formats that can be used also diminish
in choices. For example, for transceivers operating at OC-48 rates, TO-can packages are
commonly seen and as the transmission rate increases to 10Gb/s at OC-192, buttery
packages with differential line and coax terminals are used. For OC-768 rates of 40Gb/s and
above, very expensive and low loss microwave coax connectors are currently more feasible
for implementation.
The simulation and measurement techniques used by microwave package designers

to characterise and optimise package interconnects can be applied to the design and
development of opto-electronic packages. Discontinuities such as bends and transitions in
the electrical path from the package connector, to the metal traces on the sub-mounts and
optical device carriers should be modelled and optimised to achieve minimal signal loss.
Full wave and quasi-static electromagnetic solvers are indispensable tools for the package
designer to achieve this purpose. In addition, the solvers can also be used for the design of
electrodes in the electro-optic modulators.
65
3.4.2 Thermal Solutions for Optical Components
A major challenge in optical packaging is thermal management. In general, one needs

to deal with high heat uxes in the range of 150w/cm2, low operating temperature and
temperature stability. The frequency and light power output of lasers are very much
dependent on the operating temperature, the wavelength of lasers usually increases with
temperature. Hence, to prevent shifts in operating frequency of lasers, we need to maintain
a constant chip temperature. For example, with closed loop controllers that feedback to an
integrated thermoelectric cooler in the packaged optical device to regulate temperature.
There is a myriad of thermal management techniques available for different applications.
Some of the common techniques used in handling thermal issues in optical & MEMS
packaging are thermoelectric cooling, high thermal conductivity heat sinks & spreaders
(diamond spreaders), and for more demanding applications we use advanced liquid
cooling.
3.4.3 Optical Packaging Materials
Optical packaging materials are used in many areas such as adhesives, encapsulants,
passive and active optical interconnects. Therefore, the choice of these materials is a
highly interesting area of research. The technology of choice will be based on criteria
for performance, manufacturability and cost. For the fabrication of passive interconnects
combinations of different material systems is also common: Silica-on-Silicon (e.g. Corning),
Polymer-on-Silicon (e.g. JDS Uniphase). There are also varied patterning techniques used
to make such waveguides: reactive ion etching (RIE), wet etching (cheaper than RIE),
moulding or micro-stamping (for short waveguides, high throughput and high volume)
etc.
Table 11. Different Crystal Materials for Active Interconnects in Optical Systems
(Source: Adapted from University of Washington8)
Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) Lithium Niobate (LiNbO3) Electro-Optic Polymers

• Signal speed: typically • Signal speed: 10GHz to • Signal speed: in excess of
achievable 2.5GHz to 10GHz, 40GHz, recently up to 70GHz 100GHz
recently up to 40GHz.
• Drive voltage: 5V • Drive voltage: 5V • Drive voltage: 0.8V
• High electron mobility (better • Higher electron mobility than • Highest electron mobility
than Si) GaAs
• Optical loss: 2 dB/cm • Optical loss: 0.2dB/cm • Optical loss: 0.7 to 1.1 dB/cm
• Arsenic is toxic, an issue for • Good thermal stability • Lowest manufacturing cost of
disposal the three options. Due to low
drive voltage, generates less
heat.
8
Technology Report For Professor Emer Dooley, June 1, 2001
(Source:http://faculty.washington.edu/emer/oe570/lumera.htm#_ftn21)
66
The materials used for active interconnects can be classied into two groups: inorganic
semiconductors (GaAs, LiNbO3) and electro-optic (EO) polymers as shown in Table 11.

Inorganic materials incur higher manufacturing costs, have lower bandwidth, higher drive
voltages, lower electron mobility than EO polymers. However, while EO polymers appear
promising, they suffer from material defects arising from the difference in length of
molecular chains that result in degradation and optical loss. Still, many have embarked on
research in EO polymers also to partly help to reduce the cost of optical components.
3.4.4 Optical Assembly and Reliability Testing
The most challenging task in optical assembly is to launch the light in and out of the
module. The critical and time consuming assembly steps are alignment and positioning
of optical bres and components. In order to couple laser light with optical bre core,
the assembly process requires sub-micron accuracy, ne resolution and high stability. The
major requirements are to speed up production, increase the yield of assembly process
and reduce the component cost. Optical ne precision assembly and bre handling are the
principal cost drivers. The need of the hour is to automate manual processes, such as bre
alignment, preparation and positioning.
The time required for optical assembly increases with the tolerances required and in turn,
the cost of the module also adds up. In Figure 18, the typical optical assembly time
increases when compared with the conventional surface mount and area array-ip chip
assembly.
100
Single mode fibre Components
Assembly Time (min)
10
Multimode fibre Components
Flip Chip Mounting
0.1
Surface Mounting
0.001
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Alignment Tolerance ( m )
Figure 18. Optical Assembly Time Requirement vs Alignment Tolerance

(Source: OFC 2000, Paul O. Haugsjaa, Axiowave networks Inc.)
In packaging of bre optic components and modules the amount of signal loss that
occurs across the component-to-component or component-to-bre junction is very critical.
Extremely small size circular optical bre core (8-9µm in diameter), which is less than the
width of a human hair, has to be aligned with a square, circular or elliptical light output
from the device. Very high-resolution alignment system producing displacements in the
nanometre range is capable of reducing the losses across the optical junction. However
such high-resolution alignment system is costly at this moment. On the other hand, with
small misalignment infant death of the product will happen. Misalignment of only one-tenth
of a micron will result in a 30 percent loss of light coupling. The dedicated effort is the main
67
reason causing the packaging cost to be 30 to 60% of the total optical component cost,
and hence becomes an area of key research to realise low cost and high efciency optical
components and modules.
In electronic packaging, relatively small I/O count packaging such as TO & DIP were used
initially. To achieve high density peripheral interconnects, packages such as TSOP and QFP,
and then area-array interconnects such as WBGA and CSP, and nally advanced area-
array interconnects such as ip chip BGA have come into existence over the last ten to
fteen years. Today, active research is ongoing to achieve ner pitch ip chip technologies
that will allow integration of even more I/O interconnects onto a single chip with better
performances and shorter interconnects. In the area of optical assembly, advanced
ne pitch optical BGA packages can allow low insertion loss and high performance for
future applications in 10Gb/s and higher networks. To realise system integration in opto-
electronics, future optical assembly has to leverage on various other ne pitch technologies
such as wafer level processing, 3D packaging, surface activated bonding (SAB), new solder
alternatives based interconnects such as Anisotropic or Isotropic Conductive Adhesive (ACA
or ICA), gold-gold interconnects, diffusion bonding and micro-spring/coil/cantilever ip
chip.
Like conventional electronic assemblies, optical assemblies also require undergoing of

extensive reliability testing. New tests such as bre pull and bre torsion are required.
In addition, the optical systems & their assemblies, unlike consumer electronics are
expected to have much longer product life cycle. A more extended testing cycle is therefore
required. At this moment, new standards and requirements for optical assemblies are being
evolved by different standard bodies. The most common requirement, which the industry
is following now, is the Telcordia general guidelines for optical assemblies.
3.4.5 MEMS Packaging Issues and Challenges
Optical MEMS are used in many applications including wavelength switching and power
attenuation. The packaging of MEMS components with larger geometry size of >1um
compared to traditional microelectronic packaging involves surface and bulk machining, 3D
LIGA process for high aspect ration etching. MEMS packaging also has to take into account
moving parts & structural reliability, hermetic sealing, thermal sensitivity, and its interaction
with the environment, new quality check processes etc. In MEMS, there is also a lack of
packaging databases and tools, with customised and internal development often required
for its packaging. In optical mirror switches for example, precision alignment & attachment
are required for the chip, bre and lens but each different mirror design requires different
packaging considerations. V-grooves are sometimes used to place the bre and the bres
held in place by a at glass cover. Assembled devices can be placed in a common package
such as PGA package. Fibre coupling loss, sub mount attachment with minimal height
variation, high frequency and high speed, moisture and temperature control, automated
process for mass production are some of the challenges to overcome.
There is still no standard that exists in MEMS nor industry wide roadmaps available
compared to traditional electronic packaging. Packaging of MEMS is driven by cost,
performance, manufacturability and reliability. We can summarise the challenges in MEMS
packaging via the following package categories as shown in Table 12.
68
Table 12. MEMS Packaging Methodology and Challenges

MEMS product Packaging methodology and challenges
Pressure sensor, accelerometers, etc Low stress packaging, stress isolation
Accelerometers, gyros, etc Hermetic sealed package

Infrared bolometers, gyros, etc Vacuum packaging
Pressure sensors, microphone, chemical
Package open to working medium
sensors, etc
Precision alignment and attachment for chip,
Micro-mirror switches, optical switches, etc
fibres and lens
High performance, high frequency low loss
Relays, RF MEMS, etc
transmission
Bio-MEMS, microfluidic, etc Fluidic interconnection
Market Outlook. According to ElectroniCast, the worldwide market value of opto-electronic

& bre optical devices and component package consumption will expand at an average rate
of 36% per year, from US$650 million in 2000 to US$3 billion in 2005. This is predicted
to be dominated by North American consumption, accounting for 78% of market share in
2000, dropping to 72% or US$2.33 billion by 2005. (Consumption is dened as being in the
region controlling the package design and use, even though the packaging process may be
handed off to contract assemblers or captive facilities in other regions.)
Although device packages (for diodes, opto-ASICs and devices alike) have a low average
price compared to some other lower quantity components but more complex sub systems
such as photonic matrix switches, their consumption amounts to millions of dollars annually.
The share of device packages in the total value of custom packaging is forecasted to expand
rapidly, from 68% or US$470 million in 2000 to 80% or US$2.6 billion in 2005.
There is also increasingly competitive pressure to adopt automated assembly and testing,
but building such an in-house capability requires high entry barrier investment costs in
the order of a few millions up to US$50 million. Hence, economics could favour the
subcontracting of assembly/test to electronic/opto-electronic manufacturing services who
can effectively spread their facility costs over a high total volume.
69
4.1 TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
70
4 Singapore Landscape
SINGAPORE LANDSCAPE
4.1 TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY
Despite the global economic downturn and the exit of several players, the telecom industry
continues to see an increase in the number of Facilities-Based Operators (FBOs) and
Services-Based Operators (SBOs). There are now over 30 FBOs and over 290 SBOs licens-
ees as of Jan 2002. Among the players are global names such as MCI WorldCom, Reach
International Telecom, and Global One Communications.
The projected capital investment from FBOs and SBOs for the next two to three years is
estimated at S$2.64 billion. Of this, about S$1.2 billion will come from FBOs, while the
remainder will originate from SBO licensees. The projected capital investment from FBOs
over the next ve to six years is even higher, estimated at about S$1.8 billion.
In terms of international connectivity, Singapore has become one of the most connected
cities in the world. Singapore has direct internet connections to over 30 countries with more
than 45Mbps to key regional markets, US and Europe, making us one of the most connected
business capitals around. Singapore has an extensive submarine cable network comprising
of pan-Asian cables like APCN2, C2C, EAC, and Nava, among others. Singapore’s total cable
capacity can be scaled up to 21Tb/s as of end 2001. Refer to Annex B for more information
on these networks.
Singapore’s Internet Data Centers (IDCs) are also increasing in number. With 20 IDCs now
in operation, content and service providers can choose from a wide range of competitively
priced services. Some of the leading IDCs have regional and international points of presence
and use Singapore as a gateway to the region. NTT Communications, for example, launched
its S$23.5 million IDC in Singapore in Jul 2001. The center will be an integral part of NTT’s
global IDC network.
High-speed data service such as GigaWave service is also available to customers that
require massive bandwidth for their corporate data. This service is provided by SingTel
since 2000. GigaWave is an optical network employing DWDM technology which supports
transmission speeds of up to 2.5Gb/s, with speeds of 10Gb/s to be available soon. The
almost unlimited amount of bandwidth capacity enables swift transmission of voice, data
and video applications, without the need to install new bre cables.
Photonics and Optical Equipment Vendors
Singapore traditionally has a strong manufacturing base. One of the world’s leading contract
manufacturer, Solectron, has recently chosen to locate its new Asia-Pacic headquarters
here. It also enhances its manufacturing operations in Singapore to include the full-suite
of manufacturing activities for high-end products, such as optical networking systems.
Some of its main reasons for doing so are Singapore’s established strength in the
electronics manufacturing business and her efcient logistics support systems. In addition,
Venture Manufacturing, a major local contract manufacturer, is also manufacturing optical
networking modules, and will continue to expand this part of its business.
71
4.2 RESEARCH COMMUNITY
Blue Sky Research, Denselight, E2O, Laser Research and Thales Electro-Optics are some
of the local companies that produce optical components for the optical networking market.
Other optical-related companies manufacture products such as opthalmic lenses, optical
data storage devices, optical instruments and precision optics equipment for medical,
military and industrial applications. There are also a sizeable number of multinational
optical networking companies in Singapore, such as Alcatel, Cisco Systems, Corning,
Marconi and Nortel Networks. Most of these have their regional headquarters in Singapore,
providing mostly management, pre- and post-sales technical service and support, and
system planning & design for their regional customers. Figure 19 provides a glimpse of
the local landscape.
Figure 19. Optical Product Vendors in Singapore
Industry Associations
In an effort to boost the optical industry, two industrial groups, Singapore Centre of
Photonics Excellence (SCOPE) and Photonics Association (Singapore), have been formed.
The main objectives of the associations are to promote the competence of the local
photonics companies, place Singapore as a competent player in the global photonics
community, create links with related associations, cultivate growth opportunities among
industry players, enhance education and training, and promote research and development
in Singapore.
72
Singapore Centre of Photonics Excellence, SCOPE (http://www.scope.org.sg) is set
up by nine agencies related to the optics technology development in Singapore, namely the
SINGAPORE LANDSCAPE
EDB, A*STAR (formally NSTB), PSB, NTU, NUS, DSI, IMRE, IME and Gintic. It is a platform
to showcase and provide access to the competencies and R&D resources in Singapore.
It aims to harness all the brains in the eld of optics/photonics currently residing in the
various research institutes and universities in Singapore. It serves as a platform to generate
relevant projects among enterprises, and to train and develop manpower to help nurture
this industry in Singapore.
Photonics Association (Singapore), PA(S) (http://www.singoptics.org) is an industrial

group set up to promote synergy, education and enhancement activities in the photonics
industry in Singapore. It has a much wider range of companies, including precision
engineering and optics manufacturing, and are more industry focus.
4.2 RESEARCH COMMUNITY
Presently, there are various photonics research work in the two universities and various
research centres in Singapore. Most research work is done at the optical device level, with
system level research mostly performed at the NTRC.
The Network Technology Research Centre (NTRC) in NTU conduct long-term research in
optical networking and photonics research. Amongst the technologies investigated by NTRC
are some state-of-the-art research in soliton transmission and Raman optical ampliers.
NTRC has developed the mode locked ring bre laser that can act as a source with very high
speed and ultra-narrow soliton pulse. It has also developed an all-optical gain-clamping
Raman bre amplier to realise the amplication for both C-band and L-band signal. The
centre’s work on a unique laser splicing technique has attracted much attention from the
scientic and engineering communities. NTRC has also led 2 patents on bre Bragg grating
technology and one patent on optical MEMS switch for implementing all-optical network and
lowering the cost of communication systems.
Collaborating actively with industry partners in the development and transfer of leading-
edge technologies, KRDL spearheads the research and development of information and
networking technology. In the area of next generation network, KRDL has worked on policy-
based network and bandwidth allocation for broadband network. SPRINGi is Singapore’s
rst Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) testbed facility implemented by KRDL. It is funded by
NSTB, with dark bre partly sponsored by Singapore Telecom. The RPR technologies
evaluated was based on Cisco’s Dynamic Packet Transport.
In the area of optical packaging, the Institute of Microelectronics (IME) focuses more on
electro-optical-wireless packaging with core competencies established in design, simulation,
analysis, material characterisation, assembly, reliability assessment/modelling and failure
analysis. Some of the joint projects with the industry have led to the creation of novel
patents and cost savings in fabrication & packaging. In the area of MEMS, IME has
developed a unique set of capabilities in a total solution for MEMS from concept to
manufacturing – what IME called “One stop shop for MEMS products” encompassing design
of MEMS devices and their ASICs, fabrication, packaging and testing.
73
4.3 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
The Joining Technology Group (JTG) in Gintic has also started investigation on packaging
of photonic components since 2001. A bonding workstation specically designed for
optic packaging is under development, which will integrate functions of bre alignment/
attachment, epoxy dispensing/curing and process monitoring. Photonic testing and
reliability evaluation systems are being established, which are to enable the performance
characterisation according to Telcordia requirements. The photonic components which are
under investigation include 980nm laser diode and MEMS-based bre optic switch. Apart
from the activities on optical packaging, JTG is developing some new MEMS-based photonic
components. One of the examples is a micro-optic switch under the collaboration with
Institute of Microtechnology (IMT), University of Neuchatel, Switzerland, and National
University of Singapore (NUS). Thus far, a 1x4 type of MEMS optic switch has been
successfully developed and under component-level packaging in JTG. The design of a
scalable (NxN) type of MEMS optic switch has been put forward and the fabrication has
been scheduled within 2002.
The Institute of Materials Research and Engineering’s (IMRE) competency with advanced
device processing technologies and novel device structures is critical to making full use
of the electrical and optical properties of III-V compound semiconductor materials and
to developing new devices with better performance. Several technologies have been
developed for producing semiconductor lasers for optical bre communication applications:
a method of fabricating quantum wire structures and device structures with quantum wires,
novel device structures for high temperature semiconductor lasers, and semiconductor
material band gap tuning technologies for tunable and multiple wavelength semiconductor
lasers.
Annex C provides more information of the research institutions/centres in Singapore.
The way ahead for infocomm technology development is to harness the cross cluster
industrial and research capabilities, as well as multi-domain expertise of government
agencies. This is even more so in the age of technology convergence, not only within the
infocomm sector itself, but also with other non infocomm sectors such as life sciences,
nanotechnologies, mechanics, precision engineering and manufacturing etc. It is not only
about bringing IT to the non-IT sectors for the benet of the economy, but is also about
bringing non-IT sector expertise to help grow the IT sector in return. For instance, high-
end optical networking products currently lack the competency in automated precision
engineering and manufacturing, and some critical tasks are still being done manually.
To help grow this IT sector, we need to co-develop the manufacturing base to high-end
precision automation. To achieve this end, there is still ample scope for R&D in such high
end manufacturing process and automation. These requirements and others have pooled
together government agencies mainly A*STAR and EDB to closely collaborate to develop
the optical networking and photonics community in Singapore. Below are some information
on these agencies and a few examples of past project collaborations.
Agency for Science, Technology And Research, A*STAR (http://www.a-star.gov.sg)

One of the key focus of A*STAR is to strengthen the scientic knowledge and economic
competitiveness of Singapore in order to develop a foundation of high quality research
74
here. Over the years, it has funded numerous optical-related projects i.e. IP over WDM
network9, SINGAREN 2110, MEMS11, etc A*STAR also aims to promote the exploitation
SINGAPORE LANDSCAPE
of intellectual property created by our RICs, nurturing talent to advance Singapore’s
transition to a knowledge-based economy.
In its continual effort to develop photonics research capabilities in Singapore, an Optical

Network Focused Interest Group (ONFIG) was formed in April 2001 to work on
strategic areas related to optical access technology, by pulling together competencies in
photonics, electronics and software. The ONFIG members include the various RICs such
as DSI, IME, IMRE, ICR, LIT, NUS-EE, NTU-µE (photonics group) and Gintic with over 150
researchers participating in the projects. The ONFIG team has proposed projects covering
the software aspect of network, protocol and system architecture, and the component area
of optical/electronic components and subsystems. Six projects were started on 1st Dec 2001
and scheduled to run for two years. A*STAR hopes that this will create greater synergy and
collaboration among these organisations in order to position Singapore research capabilities
in a better position with the advanced nations.
EDB (http://www.sedb.com/edbcorp) The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB)

aims to develop Singapore into a leading optical networking hub for Asia, enabling the
broadband revolution by providing solutions in R&D, manufacturing and technical services.
EDB intends to build up a optical networking ecosystem in Singapore, building a synergistic
critical mass of companies covering each level of the value chain, bringing together carriers,
systems integrators and discrete device manufacturers.
To achieve this, the EDB would be developing critical supporting infrastructure necessary
to these players. EDB is currently working actively with local industry, leveraging on their
experiences from the mature precision engineering cluster and semiconductor industries
to develop the necessary packaging capabilities and build up a pool of packaging and
automation solution providers to meet the performance and cost requirements of today’s
device manufacturers. EDB will also continue to enhance its manufacturing value proposition
to optical systems companies, through engaging more optical manufacturing services
players to use Singapore as a manufacturing hub, leveraging on the Singapore-Riau islands
strategy.
Leveraging on a strong R&D community with multidisciplinary capabilities, EDB also

seeks to establish Centres of Competencies (CoCs) in optical networking - to embark on
incubation, development and test-bedding of new technologies. One of the key to attracting
such a thriving community is One-north, an exciting S$15 billion development of vision
and inspiration where ideas grow, where innovators in biomedical sciences, infocomm
technology (particularly optical and wireless networking, and pervasive computing) and
media work, live, play and learn in a 200 hectares environment located at Buona Vista,
Singapore.
9
Co-fund with MOE to develop a high-speed parallel optical packet routing technique to alleviate the
electronic bottleneck of IP routing over WDM network.
10
Funded NTRC on a second phase of SingAREN on multiprotocol lambda switching (MPlS), which
aims to develop the core software and rmware to control OADMs and OXCs.
11
Funded NTU Photonic Group for the optical MEMS project.
75
At the same time, the EDB will develop an optical knowledge-based workforce through
proactively investing in building capabilities. It has developed various manpower training
programmes in photonics-related disciplines at various levels for both professionals and
technicians. On-going EDB programmes in this area include the Specialist Manpower
Programme (SMP), Overseas Training & Attachment Programme (TAP), Research & Training
Programme (RTP) and Post-graduate Manpower training Programme (PMP). Through the
training programmes, EDB partners with the industry to provide skilled manpower fuelling
the growth of companies in Singapore (More information on EDB’s training schemes can be
obtained from EDB’s website).
Through creating such an ecosystem, the optical networking industry can benet from the
positive spin-offs generated from cross-cluster linkages and achieve long term progressive
growth, riding on arbitrage opportunities made possible by the Free-Trade agreements and
bilateral relations Singapore has with many of the world’s major markets.
IDA (http://www.ida.gov.sg) The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA)

was formed on 1 December 1999 from the merger of the Telecommunications Authority of
Singapore (TAS) and the National Computer Board (NCB). Infocomm 21 is IDA’s blueprint
for harnessing information communication technologies for national competitiveness and
improving the quality of life of Singaporeans. The blueprint articulates the vision, goal and
strategies that would facilitate the development of our infocomm industry over the next ve
years, and move Singapore into the ranks of ‘rst world economies’ of the Net age.
In collaboration with the industry, research centres and other government agencies such as
EDB and A*STAR, IDA has developed this technology roadmap on Next Generation Optical
Network and Photonics. The roadmap initiative that begins with this technology report will
call for the stakeholders to come forward to co-develop strategic technologies in this area
and to elevate Singapore to become a world class infocomm technology hub.
IDA facilitates projects with positive impacts to the direct development of the local
infocomm industry. In 1999, NTRC was funded for the building of a next generation optical
network test-bed. The Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network (SingAREN)
was set up with A*STAR to better in-country optical network research. Another project,
Development of WDM Devices, Equipment and Test-bed was to develop several key
technologies for implementing DWDM network.
76
SINGAPORE LANDSCAPE
77
5 CONCLUSION
78
5 Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Optical Networks. Next generation optical networks will support IP trafc efciently over
a WDM optical transport network with quality of service (QoS) provisioning, and an optical
control plane that will allow wavelength routing, network restoration and survivability
functions to be implemented at the optical level. This will achieve more functionality, higher
transparency, higher exibility and an improved internetworking capability.
For long-haul network, innovations and technology breakthroughs in DWDM will bring about
bigger pipes for the internet backbone. The technologies in this space are more mature and
stable, and the market is established and relatively well understood.
In the metropolitan space, we see the budding of competitive as well as complementary

technologies serving varied needs and a great potential for industry growth. Many of these
new technologies are not as mature and we are seeing several exciting innovations in this
space such as Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) and 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) technologies.
As the metropolitan marketplace is not well established and cluttered with many new and
legacy technologies, this sometimes results in a confusing landscape.
As for optical access network, we see that the market will need more time to develop. This
is mainly because of the high cost of Passive Optical Networks (PONs) deployment, and the
availability of many viable last mile solutions such as xDSL, HFC and free space optics.
Standards. Networking and telecommunication standards development has traditionally

been a good indicator of the expected development path of technology and its adoption. A
good number of standards covering framework, physical layer aspects, interfaces, functional
characteristics have been completed by ITU-T. There are many more in the pipeline, such
as distributed connection management, routing and discovery, and OTN link management.
Optical networking standardisation also see close co-operation between traditionally carrier
and voice-centric ITU and data/IP centric IETF in working towards an automatic switched
transport network. The development of Digital Wrapper, ASTN/ASON and the unied optical
control plane will have major impact on the operation of future optical carrier network.
Photonics. Today, the state-of-the-art photonic systems are lled with technological
breakthroughs in many areas. We have identied the following important technologies that
have ample scope for future development. These technologies are summarised below:
DWDM technology remains to be important. The major development efforts are

to achieve closer channel spacing, higher data rate per wavelength, wider optical
bandwidth and higher spectral efciency. Alternative technologies such as CWDM will
still be used and developed further for cost sensitive areas such as data communication
and optical access networks. OTDM can be used together with DWDM to further
increase network capacity but its implementation may still be many years away;
There are strong interests in the deployment of 40Gb/s system. Components

for the system need to be developed which include high-speed modulators, high-
speed detectors and high-speed receivers. Other components such as CD and PMD
compensators are also needed;
79
5 CONCLUSION
EDFAs & TDFAs are being developed further so that S-band, C-band and L-band can
be fully utilised. Raman ampliers and other amplier technologies are also being
developed so that other bands can also be used. Technologies such as EDWA, SOA and
low cost uncooled pump laser are being studied so that low cost ampliers for metro
network can be developed;
Tunable components are very important for optical network development. Wideband
tunable lasers, tunable lters and tunable compensators are being studied actively.
Various technologies are being pursued to achieve high tuning speed and wide tuning
range. Components with sub-nanosecond tuning speed may also be important for
future optical burst and packet switching networks;
Technologies that can lower system cost such as VCSELs for 1310nm/1550nm devices,
Very Short Reach (VSR) optical interconnects and small form factor connectors have
attracted much attention;
Future technologies such as optical 3R, soliton and photonic crystal bre may greatly
improve network performance;
A number of optical network related issues have been discussed in the report:
R&D technologies to enable automated, less costly, higher performance, high yield
packaging, precision alignment, assembly and testing of optical and MEMS devices,
components and subsystems;
R&D in packaging technologies: O/E compact reliable integration, cost effective and
stable thermal management solutions, choice of suitable materials for low loss/high
power/high speed/thermally stable photonic components, patterning techniques for
making waveguides.
We summarise our views as follow:
There is a need for standardisation in photonic components and subsystems, including

their interfaces and assemblies. For optical interconnects and assemblies, these could
include inter-chip, inter-board and inter-shelf optical connectors, backplane interfaces,
and line card interfaces, splices and very short reach optic cables. There is also a need
to standardise reliability tests for optical components;
The photonic community should continue to monitor, participate and be consistent with
international standards on optical network architectures and unied control plane to
allow multi-vendors interoperability;
Automation is a vital step towards high volume and low cost manufacturing. To
achieve this, there is a need to support highly automated optical manufacturing and
processes;
80
Assembly and component packaging have also been identied as a key area for
development, and potential commercial advantage. There should be more collaboration
CONCLUSION
efforts in this area among the photonic community;
Integration of optics and electronics is critical to drive future photonic products

into smaller packages, which ultimately result in small system footprint. High levels
of functionality and complete solutions offering could be achieved by integrating
monolithic, hybrid and discrete components into modules and subsystems. Such
components include lasers, modulators, splitters, receivers/detectors and multiplexers;
Test-bedding facilities, qualication and certication are vital to the design and
development of photonic components and systems. Hence, the close proximity
and availability of such facilities would facilitate product development and
commercialisation;
Regular networking activities and seminars organised by associations such as SCOPE

and PAS are useful both for researchers and the industry in this sector, as well as for
the setting of businesses in Singapore and abroad.
81
ANNEX A
82
Annex A. Optical Networking in Other Countries
ANNEX A
This section surveys the industry and academic research development globally and in the
region. Focus is placed in, Canada, Europe (on UK & Germany), China, Japan, Korea and
USA as there are extensive activities and developments in these countries.
Photonics is internationally recognised as a key enabling technology. As far back as 1996,

photonics was identied as a “critical technology” in the US National Critical Technologies
list. Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has identied photonics
as an essential technology, and the government of Taiwan has specied photonics as a
key discipline to target for development. China, to meet the challenges especially upon
acceding to WTO, has listed the photonics technologies to be the newest resource of
economic development and the most important technologies to develop in the new century.
The German Fraunhofer Institute has identied photonics as an area undergoing rapid
development, with innovations increasingly coming to the market.
In the following sections, we will give a brief overview of the development in their
respective domestic market in terms of size and share of optical communication. Funding
and investment by government and private investors are also provided. We also summarise
a few industry and academic research initiatives.
A.1 CANADA
The photonics sector generated about US$5.75 billion in 2000 and forecasted to grow to
US$11.5 billion by 2003 (Industry Canada). Québec holds about 40% of the Canadian
photonics market, which represented more than US$2.5 billion in 2000. Photonics clusters
were already well established with many of the world-leading companies populating the
Québec City - Montréal - Ottawa corridor.
Canada has an impressively large number of SMEs in the eld of photonics, many of
which are spin-offs from established organisations, either from large companies or research
establishments, or start-ups of personnel from these organisations. These smaller rms and
research intensive start-ups offer considerable growth potential by creating their own niche
in photonics technologies. System level integration is available through Nortel Networks and
Alcatel; these large companies provide resources that are not available to most individual
researchers. Large component manufacturer such as JDS Uniphase usually maintains a
portfolio of technologies, products and intellectual property to allow them the exibility
to choose the most appropriate technology for any given customer. Going forward, many
Canadian companies view automation and packaging technologies as a vital area of
development, both to reduce costs, and to meet volume production.
A signicant amount of research funding from the government is allocated to the

investigation of photonics technologies for optical communications, funding networks
development through industry-driven consortia. One notable network in Canada is CANARIE.
The CANARIE National Optical Internet initiative, called Ca*Net was in fact the world largest high-
speed ATM network back in 1994. Ca*Net was eventually upgraded to Ca*Net II in 1997. Ca*Net
II operates on top of ATM and SONET, which then rides over DWDM. Taking the technology a
step further, Ca*Net 3, an IP-based WDM network, is planned for speeds of at least 40Gb/s.
Ca*Net 3 network is designed to run directly over DWDM, significantly increasing its speed and
83
ANNEX A
efciency. This provides Canada with the fastest research network in the world.
A.2 CHINA
According to RHK, China’s optical transport market reached US$1.1 billion in the rst half
of 2001 and expected to achieve US$1.9 billion for 2001. Factors driving this market are
deregulation, rising xed line and mobile voice penetration, and emerging interest in data
services. China’s optical transport market is projected to reach US$5.5 billion by 2004. In
market share, RHK nds that Huawei’s leadership in the overall optical transport market
was the result of its strong position in the SDH segment. SDH is still the largest market
segment in China, and Huawei dominants the more price-sensitive provincial and local
markets. Following Huawei in the SDH market is ZTE, Nortel, Lucent, Marconi, Alcatel,
Siemens and newcomer.
The major thrust in optoelectronics manufacturing today is cost reduction. Many

companies are looking to China for low-cost manufacturing solutions. While the electronics
industry is experiencing a worldwide downturn, China has potential as the bright spot
for optoelectronics manufacturing. The Chinese government has recently set up six
photonic valleys throughout China hoping at least one of them will blossom into something
like the Silicon Valley of US. These valleys are mainly located at Beijing, Changchun,
Shenzhen, Shijiazhuang and Wuhan. Among them, Wuhan and Shenzhen are the two
largest production bases for optical products.
In China, associations such as the Chinese Optical Society (COS), China Optics and
Optoelectronics Manufacturers Association (COEMA) and Photonics Society of Chinese-
Americans are actively supporting the photonics industry. Several national laboratories
have been established and linked to the universities, institutes or the industry. China
has also constructed important government-hold Integrated Optics and Photonic Lab and
Optoelectronics Technology & Engineering Centres. Its aim is of course, to spur universities,
research institutes and the local governments to collaborate to promote technical transfers
of knowledge, joint R&D projects and establishment of hi-tech start-up companies.
A.3 EUROPE
The photonics industry has also generated considerable interest in R&D and industry
developments in Europe. Although there are signs of individual efforts in various European
countries to develop this industry, there are also signicant joint European R&D efforts.
According to RHK, the market for European optical transport, including SDH, DCS and WDM
equipment will reach US$9 billion in 2001, reaching US$14.8 billion by 2004.
In Europe, many projects on optical networking were experimented. A more outstanding

one is the Advanced Communications Technology and Services, called ACTS programme.
ACTS purpose is to accelerate the deployment of advanced communications infrastructures
and services, and is complemented by extensive European research in the related elds
of information technology and telematics. Photonic technology and infrastructure concepts
developed in ACTS will be validated in trials at many locations throughout Europe.
United Kingdom (UK). UK has a particularly strong presence of some of the world
leading optical communication systems companies such as Alcatel, Marconi Communications
and Nortel Networks. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) estimates that total
84
UK production of photonics systems and components for 2000 was around £4 billion,
accounting for half of total EU production. These companies have manufacturing bases in
UK. Other leading US companies such as Cisco, Corning and Lucent have also established
ANNEX A
design and optical network development centres near London. UK has also a strong R&D
and manufacturing base for bre-optic components such as laser diodes, transceivers and
ampliers. Global players in the UK include Agilent Technologies and JDS Uniphase. UK is
also a large producer of optical bre and cable and the main producers are Corning and
Pirelli.
The UK has substantial academic strengths in optoelectronics and photonics technologies,

stimulated by programmes funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC), DTI and other Government bodies. As part of the Government’s LINK
initiative, the DTI and the EPSRC, under the Optical Systems for the Digital Age (OSDA)
program, have allocated up to £11m over a ve year period from 2000 to support
collaborative research between industry and the science base involving the application of
optical techniques and devices. Focus areas include optical communications, imaging and
sensor networks, compact, high efciency laser systems and optics in computer systems &
displays. There will also be works on the packaging of optical components.
Collaborative projects also play a key part in bringing fundamental research closer to the
market place. Notable projects include UPDATES and PHOTON. The former - stands for
‘Ultrafast Photonics for Datacomms Above Terabit Speeds’ - is a £10.7 million
collaboration between ve universities and seven industrial partners. Based at the University
of St Andrews, the project will last six years. The later - a £2.8 million PHOTON project
‘Physical-layer High-speed Optoelectronics for Tomorrow's Optical Networks’ -
will carry out basic materials and device research, aiming to go a step further, from Gigabit
Ethernet to Terabit Ethernet. Six universities and seven companies are involved in this
project.
Germany. The German industry is composed of innovative SMEs and larger corporations
serving established market sectors. With this balanced structure, Germany is likely to con-
tinue to expand position in the global photonics market. The major tasks awaiting the pho-
tonics industry over the next few years are increasing miniaturisation, the convergence of
electronics and optics, device integration, functional design, and the simulation of optical
systems. The Fraunhofer Institutes, together with their partners in industry are a major
source of research for industry support, complementing the Planck Institutes.
With funding support from the Federal Government in photonics R&D, Germany is set to
build on her strengths in optics and ne mechanics and establish an innovative photonics
industry. In May 2000, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) has commis-
sioned a roadmap for Germany, entitled “German Agenda Optical Technologies for the 21st
Century.” This report gives direction on the emerging opportunities in photonics applica-
tions.
Germany is a strong global player in laser sources and systems technology. Its key strength
lies in integrating lasers in manufacturing processes i.e. material applications such as laser
welding, cutting, boring, hardening, surface treating and marking. Other strengths include
high quality control, high precision measurements and precision engineering. Companies
such as Siemens and Inneon Technologies are currently developing next generation
of broadband network technology and chips. The 40Gb/s technology will be ready for
commercialisation and research is progressing toward the development of next generation
120Gb/s technology.
85
ANNEX A
A.4 JAPAN
The strong growth of Japan’s Optical Transport market is mainly driven by competition
from new carriers. This optical transport market, which includes SONET/SDH, digital cross-
connects and DWDM achieved US$1.32 billion in 2000. According to RHK, Japanese market
is expected to reach around US$6.1 billion by 2004, with DWDM constituting US$2.65
billion. NTT, the world largest carrier is quickly scaling its DWDM deployment to 10Gb/s
to major prefecture rings. While DWDM is so far limited to point-to-point backbone routes
using gear from Fujitsu, NEC and Lucent, NTT aims to implement all optical network in the
next 3 to 5 years.
A.5 KOREA
The Korean Government has identied photonics as a strategic industry in the 21st century
and is planning new initiatives to establish Gwangju region in the south to be a photonics
powerhouse for high-speed telecom market. Domestic market for photonics is expected to
grow from US$7 billion in 2001 to US$16.5 billion in 2005. The Korean government put
tremendous focus on R&D, and intends to raise the annual research spending to US$7.7
billion by 2005. It also plans to provide nancing of up to US$350 million for foreign
and domestic photonics businesses over a 10-year period to encourage them to establish
facilities in the Gwangju Photonics Complex.
Korea Association for Photonics Industry Development (KAPID) was inaugurated in May
2000 to assist Gwangju City in winning support from the central government to promote
the photonics industry. Additionally, it took charge of formulating a development plan for
the industry while seeking international partners for co-operative projects. Korea Photonics
Technology Institute (KOPTI) was ofcially inaugurated April 2001 within the city’s high-
tech industrial park. The US$114 million development is aimed at driving research into
photonics and nanotechnology that will build the next generation of telecom systems
capable of providing true broadband, bre optic cables to the home.
Optical technologies in Korea are mainly led by Samsung Electronics, LG Telecom, Daewoo
Telecom, Optical Network Laboratory of Korea Telecom and Korea Institute of Science and
Technology (KIST). However, the Korean photonics industry in most market segments still
lags those of the advanced economies such as United States, Japan and Europe.
A.6 USA
IGI Consulting reported that the USA Optical Networks market is projected to grow from
about US$15 billion in 2001 to US$34 billion in 2004. The optical networking industry has
been crowded by start-ups in the last two years, and it is one of the most well funded
sectors by venture capitals. The US-based Optics Industry Development Association (OIDA)
estimated that the total investment by venture capitals in optics in North America was US$2
billion in 2000.
There are several photonics clusters in the US, aiming to create a critical mass for growth,
collaboration, competition and opportunities for investment. Some of the prominent clusters
are located at Silicon Valley of California, Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas and Rochester. The primary goal of these clusters is to enhance the economic
development and competitiveness of the region’s photonics rms. Each of these industries
86
has formed a critical mass in its region that attracts new companies as well as job
candidates, and purchasers of their products and services; all of this makes the local
ANNEX A
industry more competitive.
The Economic Potential of Advanced Packaging and Automated Manufacturing.

In 1999 the USA launched an Advanced Technology Program in Photonics Manufacturing.
According to this program, the photonics industry accounts for a lucrative revenue growth
from photonics components doubling every four years. The program also noted that the
US controls only 9% of the US$16 billion photonics component manufacturing market and
yet consumes 40% of the products. About 75% of these components are manufactured in
Japan.
Although the USA leads in research in photonics, yet manufacturing costs are still high &
manufacturing infrastructure is still lacking in US, limiting the global competitiveness of
the US photonics industry. The Photonics Manufacturing program will enable marketable
products at large volumes and low cost. Amongst its goals, the program hopes to reduce by
75% the capital costs for fabrication lines and to reduce by 90% the testing time for mod-
ules. Several manufacturing technologies needed are: packaging and assembly technolo-
gies, simulation and modelling tools, processing equipment and materials.
Packaging accounts for 60% to 80% of manufacturing costs and automation is key to the
reduction of such costs. Productivity is currently deemed lacking in the photonics manufac-
turing industry by J P Morgan H&Q Equity Research and this is key for long term sustain-
ability and for a protable business model.
According to the above program, there are also many spillover effects of photonics for
the US economy. The development of efcient, high-volume photonics manufacturing pro-
cesses would benet and increase the value of information technology products and ser-
vices. If the US only managed to secure a mere 1% of this US$1.5 trillion market for IT
products and services, the economic benets reaped would already be substantial. A better
balance between US manufactured photonics products and US consumption would also
create more high paying jobs and boost employment.
87
ANNEX B
88
Annex B. Major Submarine Cable Networks
Linking Singapore
ANNEX B
APCN2 (Asia Pacic Cable Network 2) The APCN 2 network spans more than 19,000
km of cables connecting mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Philippines and Singapore. Consortium members have invested over US$1 billion in the
project. APCN2 provides seamless interconnection to the regional bre-optic cable networks
linking to America, Australia and Europe via other cable networks. APCN2 is built with a
total capacity of 2.56Tb/s employing DWDM technology at 10Gb/s and 64 channels over
4 bre pairs. The system will initially offer 80Gb/s of capacity, which will be upgraded to
160Gb/s in 2002 to meet the growing demand for bandwidth in the region.
C2C Cable Network (http://www.c2ccn.com) The C2C cable network is a US$2 billion
pan-Asian submarine cable network comprising of a northern and a southern loop in a
gure of “8” conguration. The network spans about 17,000 km, providing a total capacity
of 7.68Tb/s. The northern loop linking China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines
was completed in Dec 2001. The southern loop linking Hong Kong, Singapore and the
Philippines was completed on 28 Jan 2002. The cable system employs DWDM technology
using 96 wavelengths each at 10Gb/s on 8 bres pair. It will provide an initial capacity of
160Gb/s for the start.
East Asia Crossing, EAC (http://www.asiaglobalcrossing.com/agc_network/

east_asia_crossing) is a pan-Asian submarine cable system, a joint venture with StarHub
and its parent Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) that will establish a terrestrial
network within Singapore to connect with Asia Global Crossing’s pan-Asian East Asia
Crossing subsea system. The cable system provides a total capacity of 2.56Tb/s, spanning
about 19,500 km linking Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore. In addition, EAC
will connect Malaysia and the Philippines in early 2002. Plans are also in place to connect
China as regulations permit. The landing of EAC is an important milestone for Singapore
as it strives to develop its telecommunications infrastructure to support the country’s
fast-growing demand for broadband applications. The system uses bi-directional transport
capacity shared over 4 bre pairs to provide initial transmission capacity of 80Gb/s using
DWDM technology. STT and Hutchinson Whampoa are currently making a joint US$750
million bid for control of Global Crossing, which recently led for bankruptcy protection.
Network i2i (http://www.i2icn.com) The Singapore-India cable network system is currently

the world’s largest in terms of capacity, with a total bandwidth of 8.4Tb/s. The US$650
million cable system spans about 10,200 km linking Singapore, Chennai and Mumbai.
The Singapore-Chennai leg of the cable network is expected to start carrying commercial
trafc by rst quarter of 2002. After completion of the i2i network, it will be linked to
SingTel’s extensive cable network including C2C, SEA-ME-WE 3 and APCN2. It has a design
specication of 10Gb/s DWDM, utilising 105 wavelengths and 8 bre pairs. The initial
capacity is 160Gb/s.
89
ANNEX B
GLOSSARY
NAVA (http://www.navanetworks.com) Nava-1 is a 9,000 km Singapore to Sydney

submarine and terrestrial bre optic cable network providing strategic data connection
between Singapore, Jakarta and Australia. Nava-1 is designed with total transmission
capacity of 3.2Tb/s. It will also connect to international cable networks linking Europe,
North America and Asia. Utilising 4 bre pairs, each 80 channels of STM-64 (10Gb/s), it will
provide an initial capacity of 160Gb/s.
90
ANNEX B
91
ANNEX C
92
Annex C. Local Research Institutions & Centres
ANNEX C
Centre for Optoelectronics, COE (http://www.ee.nus.edu.sg/coe) is a research centre
under the Microelectronics Group of Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
of NUS. The centre currently research on materials growth, processing & characterisation,
nano-scale tailoring of quantum structures, fundamental opto-electronic processes, opto-
electronic guided waves and semiconductor devices - design, simulation and fabrication.
Centre for Wireless Communication, CWC (http://www.cwc.nus.edu.sg) R&D activities

mainly focus on the research, design and prototyping of systems in the technology areas
of advanced modulation & multiple access, signal processing, RF, antenna & propagation,
network protocols, internet and mobile computing. In IP networking, CWC has been active
with the A1-Net Project. The A1-Net project aims to build a testbed from an All-IP network
that is IPv6 based to experiment and demonstrate the feasibility of an All-IP network. This
network will provide quality of service support to various classes of trafc enabling the
possibility of supporting these services over a single global network.
Data Storage Institute, DSI (http://www.dsi.nus.edu.sg) Spearheading world class

research and development in next generation data storage technologies, the DSI is
positioned to lead and support the growth of the data storage industry in Singapore. DSI
was established in April 1996 through the expansion of the Magnetics Technology Centre
founded in June 1992 by A*STAR and NUS. DSI has an Optics Division that works on the
optics crystal, media and systems areas. DSI has also started projects on optical soliton
generation and WDM-PON technologies.
Gintic Institute of Manufacturing Technology, GINTIC (http://www.gintic.gov.sg)

Amongst Gintic’s projects are optical micro-mirror, bre optics alignment and handling,
electrochromic adjustable optical lter and micro lens mould insert. Gintic has an Advanced
Machining Group that develops and disseminates new manufacturing technologies to
the local industries, helping local companies in the design and development of photonic
engineering and optical communications components. The optical communication team
research covers the design and fabrication of devices for use in optical communications.
FBG is utilised to fabricate devices such as add/drop multiplexers and other DWDM mod-
ules. The photonic engineering team develops solid state laser and coupling of high-
power diode laser arrays to optical bres and FBG. GINTIC was formed as a national
research institute set up within NTU and funded by A*STAR. GINTIC has to date completed
more than 600 projects for close to 400 companies.
Institute of Microelectronics, IME (http://www.ime.org.sg) IME was formed in 1991 as

Singapore’s national research institute for microelectronics. The Institute creates value for
the continual growth of the electronics industries in Singapore through excellent research
and development. IME develops new critical technologies for the entire spectrum of micro-
electronics - circuit design, semiconductor process technologies, advanced packaging, fail-
ure analysis and reliability, and MEMS.
93
ANNEX C
Institute of Materials Research & Engineering, IMRE (http://www.imre.org.sg)

houses a sub division on Opto- and Electronic Systems Cluster, amongst other advanced
technology clusters such as Micro- and Nano- Systems Laboratory, biomaterials research
and material characterisation, modelling and integration. The Opto- and Electronic Systems
Cluster focuses on materials growth and device processing technologies from a systems
application viewpoint with compound and organic semiconductors as the focus of study.
The growth of these new materials requires an understanding at the molecular level and
also exploits the quantum effect of nanostructures for device operation. The light-emitting
diodes are used in full colour displays while laser devices are used in optical data storage
and for bre optic communications. Some of the devices fabricated include semiconductor
lasers, LEDs, VCSELs, infrared detectors, quantum effect devices, photonic switches, HEMTs
and HBTs. IMRE also undertakes specialised characterisation of the optical properties of
both materials and devices. In addition, materials development for application in sub-micron
Si devices is being pursued, specically in the area of silicides and thin lm metallurgy. The
study of thin lm metallurgy for device and packaging which includes lead-free solders,
use of solder balls for achieving micron precision alignment of optical emitters to bre and
MEMs devices. IMRE is supported by A*STAR under the purview of the Ministry of Trade
and Industry, and is an afliate of the NUS.
Kent Ridge Digital Lab, KRDL (http://www.krdl.org) Formed in early 1998, as a result of
the merger of two leading IT research institutes in Singapore, KRDL has quickly established
itself as one of the most dynamic software labs in Asia. KRDL has been directly responsible
for several world class research results and over 10 spin-offs founded by its staff utilising
technologies developed in the lab. KRDL’s research and development interest in optical
networking lies largely in the software and protocol level. With effect from 2 Jan 2002,
KRDL has merged with the centre for Signal Processing (CSP-NTU) to become "Laboratories
for Information Technology (LIT)"
Nanyang Technological University, NTU School of Mechanical and Production

Engineering, MPE (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/mpe/research/groups/photonics) offers
different courses incorporating Optics & Photonics and Applications at both the graduate
and under-graduate levels. It has two laboratories; Micro-machine Laboratory for MEMS
technology & micro-fabrication; and Precision Engineering & Nanotechnology Centre for
precision micro-machining & precision moulding that are equipped with state-of-the-art
equipment for the design and the fabrication of optics, photonic devices and systems.
Photonics expertise applicable to mechanical engineering includes optical data storage,
optical MEMS, bre optics sensor, biomedical optics and laser micro machining.
Nanyang Technological University, NTU Microelectronics Centre, Photonics

Research Group (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/eee/eee6/photonics) was formed in 1994 with
main focus on optoelectronics, sol-gel photonics, laser engineering, optical networking,
photonic sensors, and photonic display. The group has achieved 400 refereed journals and
international conference publications. It has also produce one spin-off. The centre has
funding for projects from various organisations such as IDA, A*STAR, NTU and SingTel.
94
ANNEX C
Nanyang Technological University, NTU Network Technology Research Centre,
NTRC (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/ntrc) has an Optical Network Research Group experimenting
and developing new technologies for implementing the next generation network. The
research activities include optical communication system design, DWDM, passive optical
network, soliton transmission system, photonic packet switching and bre grating-based
devices and fabrication system.
95
GLOSSARY
96
Glossary
GLOSSARY
10 GEA 10 Gigabit Ethernet Alliance
10GbE 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Emerging IEEE standard for Ethernet at 10Gb/s.
3G Third Generation
ACA Anisotropic Conductive Adhesive
ADM Add/Drop Multiplexer
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AOTF Acousto-Optic Tunable Filter
APON ATM Passive Optical Network
ARP Address Resolution Protocol. Protocol for mapping IP addresses to MAC
addresses
ASE Amplied Spontaneous Emission
ASIC Application Specic Integrated Circuit
ASON Automatic Switch Optical Network
ASTN Automatic Switch Transport Network
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
AWG Arrayed Waveguide Grating
BER Bit Error Rate
BGA Ball Grid Array. Surface-mounted package with metal balls arranged in a
grid pattern on the back of the package
BPON Broadband Passive Optical Network
C-band Conventional band
CA*net, CA*net II, CA*net 3 Leading Canadian research and education networks,
developed by CANARIE.
CD Chromatic Dispersion
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CLEC Competitive Local Exchange Carrier
CLIP Classical Internet Protocol
CMOS Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CO2 Laser Carbon Dioxide Laser
CPE Customer Premise Equipment
CR-LDP Constraint-based Routing LDP
CSP Chip Scale Packaging
CWDM Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing
DBA Dynamic Bandwidth Assignment
DBR Laser Distributed Bragg Reector Laser
DCF Dispersion Compensating Fibre
DCM Dispersion Compensator Module
DCS Digital Crossconnect System
DFB Laser Distributed Feedback Laser
DIP Dual-Inline Package
DLCI Data Link Connection Identier
DPT Dynamic Packet Transport
DRP Disaster Recovery Planning
DSF Dispersion Shifted Fibre
DSL Digital Subscriber Line
DWDM Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
E1 Represents speed of 2.048Mb/s
EAM Electro Absorptive Modulator
97
GLOSSARY
ECL External Cavity Laser

EDFA Erbium Doped Fibre Amplier
EDWA Erbium Doped Waveguide Amplier
EFM Ethernet in the First Mile
ENNI External Node to Node Interface
EOM Electro Optical Modulator
EPON Ethernet Passive Optical Network
Er Erbium
ESCON Enterprise Systems Connection. Registered trademark of IBM Corporation.
FBG Fibre Bragg Grating
FDDI Fibre Distributed Data Interface. A standard for 100Mb/s bre-optic local
area network
FEC Forward Error Correction
FEC Forward Equivalence Class
FR Frame Relay
FSAN Full Service Access Network
FTTx Fibre-to-the-Curb (FTTC), Fibre-to-the-Building (FTTB), Fibre-to-the-
Cabinet (FTTCab), Fibre-to-the-Ofce (FTTO) or Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH)
FWM Four Wave Mixing
GaAs Gallium Arsenide
Gb/s Giga-bit-per-second
GbE Gigabit Ethernet
GHz Giga Hertz
GMPLS Generalised Multiprotocol Label Switching
HBT Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor
HFC Hybrid-Fibre Coaxial
I/O Input/Output
IA Implementation Agreement
IBBMM Interactive Broadband Multimedia
IC Integrated Circuit
ICA Isotropic Conductive Adhesive
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IETF Internet Engineering Task Force
ILEC Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier
INNI Internal Node to Node Interface
InP Indium Phosphide
IP Internet Protocol
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
ISP Internet Service Provider
ITR Infocomm Technology Roadmap
ITU International Telecommunications Union
IXC Inter-eXchange Carriers
L-band Long band
LAN Local Area Network
LDP Label Distribution Protocol
LED Light Emitting Diode
LEX Local Exchange
LIB Label Information Base
LIGA Acronym from German words Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung,
meaning lithography, electroplating and moulding
98
LiNbO3 Lithium Niobate
LMSC LAN/MAN Standards Committee
GLOSSARY
LSR Label Switching Router
MAC Media Access Control
MAN Metropolitan Area Network
Mb/s Mega-bit-per-second
MEMS MicroElectroMechanical System
MESFET Metal-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor
Metro Metropolitan
MMF Multimode Fibre
MNC Multi National Company
MOEMS Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical System
MPLS Multiprotocols Label Switching
MSM Metal-Semiconductor-Metal
MSPP Multi Service Provisioning Platform
NGI Next Generation Internet
NGN Next Generation Network
nm Nanometres (10E-9)
NNI Node to Node Interface
O-UNI Optical User to Network Interface
OADM Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer
OAM Operation, Administration and Maintenance
OAM&P Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning
OCh Optical Channel
OC-xxx Optical Carrier. OC-x where the “x” represents increments of
51.84Mb/s. i.e. OC-1/STS-1, OC-3/STS-3, OC-12, OC-48 and OC-192
denote transmission standards for bre-optic data transmission in SONET
frames at data rates of 51.84Mb/s, 155.52Mb/s, 622.08Mb/s, 2.48832Gb/s,
and 9.95Gb/s, respectively
OEIC Optical Electronics Integrated Circuit
OEO Optical-Electrical-Optical
OIF Optical Internetworking Forum
OLT Optical Line Terminating Equipment
OMS Optical Multiplex Section
ON Optical Network
ONFIG Optical Network Focus Interest Group
ONU Optical Network Unit
OOO Optical-Optical-Optical
Optical 1R Optical Re-amplication
Optical 2R Optical Re-amplication and Reshaping
Optical 3R Optical Re-amplication, Re-timing, Reshaping
OSNR Optical Signal to Noise Ratio
OSPF Open Shortest Path First. A routing protocol used in IP networks
OTDM Optical Time Division Multiplexing
OTN Optical Transport Network
OTS Optical Transmission Section
OXC Optical Crossconnect
PCF Photonic Crystal Fibre
PDH Pleisochronous Digital Hierarchy
PGA Pin Grid Array. Package for through-hole mounting with pins arrayed on
the entire base plane
99
GLOSSARY
PHEMT Pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor

PHY Refers to Physical layer
PIN Positive-Intrinsic-Negative diode
PLC Planar Lightwave Circuit
PMD Polarisation Mode Dispersion
PON Passive Optical Network
POP Point of Presence. A term used by ISPs to indicate the number of
geographical locations from which they provide access to the Internet
POS Packet Over SONET
PPP Point-to-Point Protocol
PVC Permanent Virtual Circuit
PXC Photonics Crossconnect
QFP Quad Flat Pack
QoS Quality of Service
R&D Research and Development
RF Radio Frequency
RIC Research Institution and Centre
RIE Reactive Ion Etching
RPR Resilient Packet Ring
RSVP resource ReSerVation Protocol
S Band Short Band
SAB Surface Activated Bonding
SAN Storage Area Network
SC Standard Connector
SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (European term)
SDL Simplied Data Link
SFF Small Form Factor (term used with connectors)
SMF Single Mode Fibre
SOA Semiconductor Optical Amplier
SOL GEL The sol-gel process is a versatile solution process for making ceramic and
glass materials. Sol-gel process involves the transition of a system from a
liquid “sol” into a solid “gel” phase.
SONET Synchronous Optical Network (North American term)
SPM Self Phase Modulation
SRP Spatial Reuse Protocol. A proprietary Cisco packet ring based on DPT
technology
ST Straight Tip
STM Synchronous Transfer Mode
STS Synchronous Transport Signal. A fundamental unit of 51.84Mb/s in the
SONET hierarchy, with “n” representing the integral multiples. The most
common values of “n” are 1, 3, 6, and 12.
SWDM Sparse Wavelength Division Multiplexing
T1 Represents speed of 1.544Mb/s
Tb/s Tera bit-per-second
TDM Time Division Multiplexing
TE Trafc Engineering
Tm Thulium
TSOP Thin Small Outline Packaging
UDWDM Ultra Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
UNI User Network Interface
USF Dispersion Unshifted Fibre
100
VCI Virtual Circuit Identier
VCSEL Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser
GLOSSARY
VOA Variable Optical Attenuator
VPI Virtual Path Identier
VSR Very Short Reach
WAN Wide Area Network
WBGA Window Ball Grid Array
WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing
WG Working Group
YAG Laser Yttrium Aluminium Garnet Laser
λ ‘lambda’, meaning wavelength
101
FEEDBACK
102
FEEDBACK
FEEDBACK
This Infocomm Technology Roadmap is a continuous effort, to be revised and updated
as technologies evolve. For enquiry, proposals on technology development and initiatives,
you can reach us at:
Infocomm Technology Roadmap

Technology Direction
Chief Technology Ofce
Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore
8 Temasek Boulevard
#14-00 Suntec Tower Three
Singapore 038988
Website: http://www.ida.gov.sg
(Click on “Technology Development”, followed by “Infocomm Technology Roadmap”)
Email: [email protected]
103
SURVEY FORM
104
SURVEY F0RM
Survey Form
105
SURVEY FORM
Survey Form
IDA Technology Roadmap 2002
Track 1: Next Generation Optical Networks & Photonics
With active contribution from the industry and research community, IDA has launched the
Infocomm Technology Roadmap Release February 2002. You have either attended the
Roadmap Symposium or downloaded a copy of the Technology Roadmap document from
our website. Your feedback is valuable to us to better our future services for you. We
appreciate if you could spare a few minutes to fill up the following survey.
Please return the completed questionnaire to IDA:

via Fax: +(65) 211 2211 (Attention to Ms Saliza Mohd)
or via Mail to the address on the previous page.
Company Name :
Your Name :
Designation/ :
Area of Expertise :
Email Address :
Contact Number :
Q1. With regards to the Roadmap Report Release Feb 2002 Track 1, please rate the
following on a scale of 1 to 5.
Factors Excellent Poor

Usefulness of the roadmap 5 4 3 2 1
Completeness of coverage and contents 5 4 3 2 1
Ease of understanding 5 4 3 2 1
Usefulness of the Roadmap Chart 5 4 3 2 1
Relevance to you or to your business strategy/ 5 4 3 2 1
planning
Comments (if any):
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Q2. Please indicate the accuracy (in terms of trend & development) of each topic in the
Technology Roadmap Report. Please rate them on a scale of 1 to 5.
SURVEY F0RM
Area/Topic Accurate Inaccurate
Next Generation Optical Networks 5 4 3 2 1
Photonics Enabling Technologies 5 4 3 2 1
Standard Development 5 4 3 2 1
Singapore Landscape 5 4 3 2 1
Roadmap Chart 5 4 3 2 1
Comments (if any):
Q3. Do you have any suggestions for improvement on the Technology Roadmap?
Q4. If you are an industry player in Optical Networking & Photonics, what are the
services, facilities, equipment and supporting infrastructure that you need but are
lacking in Singapore?
Q5. Would you like to be informed of our future Infocomm Technology Roadmap
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Table Of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1. Multi-layer Structure of Existing Networks................................................................10

Table 1. ITU-T Recommendations for Optical Network...........................................................18

ITR-3 Roadmap Task Force:

IDA - Technology Direction

NTU - Network Technology Research Centre

A/P Cheng Tee Hiang

The Info-Communications Development Authority of Singapore (“IDA”) makes no warranties as to

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

To realise next generation networks, photonics, packaging and fundamental material

TECHNOLOGY TRENDS IN NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES IN PHOTONICS

A typical optical communication system consists of network elements using photonic

The availability of advanced photonic components and subsystems is viewed as an

1.2 DRIVERS FOR NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

SONET/SDH not able to meet new demands in data-centric networks. Synchronous

Advances in photonics bring about new possibilities. Intense development in optical

Interoperability of optical networking equipment between different vendor products is

Achieve service velocity. By automatically provisioning bandwidth with bandwidth on

Increase network efciency by utilising dynamic connections within mesh architectures

Simplify operations through self-conguring network that adapts to network demand,

Reduction in operating costs by removing unused network layers and streamlining

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

2.1 ATTRIBUTES OF THE DIFFERENT NETWORK SEGMENTS

In general, a public communication network has a three-tier architecture, consisting of

2.1.1 Long-Haul Network

Increase transmission spectrum. The spectrum of an optical bre transmission

Increase transmission bit-rate per channel. The maximum transmission bit-rate

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

Ease of service provisioning. The metro market is a ercely competitive arena

Optimised resource utilisation. Data trafc burstiness is higher in metropolitan area

Transparency. Since a much greater variety of protocols coexist in the metropolitan

2.1.3 Access Network

2.2 OPTICAL NETWORK EVOLUTION

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

2.2.1 SONET/SDH Networks

SONET/SDH is also hailed as a 2nd generation digital transport system because it is

The self-healing feature of SONET/SDH network is typically implemented with a

2.2.2 Architecture of Existing Optical Networks

Figure 1. Multi-layer Structure of Existing Networks

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). MPLS is a new approach for deploying IP

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

2.2.3 Architecture of Next Generation Optical Network, Issues and Challenges

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

Evolution of Long-Haul Networks. The long-haul segment addresses the optimised

Figure 2. Evolution of Optical Networks in Long-Haul

Evolution of Metropolitan Network. Metropolitan transport functionality deals princi-

As bandwidth demand increases, SONET would be progressively displaced. In its place,

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Figure 3. Evolution of Optical Networks in MAN

Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON). EPON evolution is driven by the

2.3 STANDARD DEVELOPMENTS

NEXT GENERATION OPTICAL NETWORKS

G.875 “OTN Management Information Model for the

G.664 Optical Safety Procedures and Requirements for Approved

Optical Transport Network (OTN) Infrastructure (G.872). ITU-T Recommendation