TP5 WDM Opt.comm.2024-2025

Kasdi Merbah OUARGLA University
Faculty of New Information and Communication

Technologies
Department of Electronics and Telecommunications
Master 2: telecommunications systems
Subject: optical communications TP
TP5: Study of a WDM link
Objective
The aim of this lab is to study a WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) link. The principle
consists of multiplexing the wavelengths of several user signals on the same optical fiber in
order to optimize the cost of the optical link, analyze the meaning of the chosen parameters
and predict the impact on the subsequent operation of the link. These parameters mainly
concern: the flow rate per channel, the number of channels and the wavelength spacing. The
quality of the WDM link is judged by the BER, the Q factor and the eye diagram.
What is WDM?
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) is a fiber-optic transmission technique that
enables the use of multiple light wavelengths (or colors) to send data over the same
medium. Two or more colors of light can travel on one fiber, and several signals can be
transmitted in an optical waveguide at differing wavelengths or frequencies on the
optical spectrum.
Early fiber-optic transmission systems put information onto strands of glass through
simple pulses of light. A light was flashed on and off to represent digital ones
and zeros. The actual light could be of almost any wavelength—from roughly
670 nanometers to 1550 nanometers. Wavelength Division Multiplexing, or WDM, is a
technique in fiber-optic transmission that uses multiple light wavelengths to send data
over the same medium.
1
There are two types of WDM today:
• Coarse WDM (CWDM): CWDM is defined by WDM systems with fewer than
eight active wavelengths per fiber. CWDM is used for short-range
communications, so it employs wide-range frequencies with wavelengths that
are spread far apart. Standardized channel spacing permits room for
wavelength drift as lasers heat up and cool down during operation. CWDM is
a compact and cost-effective option when spectral efficiency is not an
important requirement.
• Dense WDM (DWDM): DWDM is defined in terms of frequencies. DWDM’s
tighter wavelength spacing fits more channels onto a single fiber, but costs
more to implement and operate. DWDM is for systems with more than eight
active wavelengths per fiber. DWDM dices spectrum finely, fitting 40-
plus channels into the C-band frequency range.
Channel spacing:
- When the channel spacing is 20 nm (2500 GHz), it is called CWDM (Coarse WDM).
- When the channel spacing is 1.6 nm, 0.8 nm, 0.4 nm, and 0.2 nm (200 GHz, 100 GHz, 50
GHz, and 25 GHz), it is called DWDM (Dense WDM).
- When the channel spacing is 0.08 nm (10 GHz), it is called UDWDM (ultra-dense WDM).
With DWDM, vendors have found various techniques for cramming 40, 88, or 96
wavelengths of fixed spacing into the C-band spectrum of a fiber. Traditional DWDM line
systems use Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) designed with fixed 50GHz or 100GHz
filters. These fixed-grid line systems can accommodate channels from early generations of
coherent transponders whose wavelengths require less than 50GHz or 100GHz of spectrum
(depending on the filter used). Today, networks with high- bandwidth applications and
sustained bandwidth growth that are quickly facing capacity exhaustion are turning to C+L-
band solutions, which also leverage the L-band spectrum of a fiber to potentially double the
fiber capacity.
2
Numerical simulation
Required work
1- Realize the WDM optical transmission chain with two users using the OptiSystem
simulation software (flow rate/channel = 10 Gbit/s).
2-Determine the role of each component in the transmission chain.
3-change the bit rate per channel:
Db=2.5 Gbit/s, Db=5 Gbit/s and Db=10 Gbit/s, and edit for each rate the eye diagram, the
maximum value of the Q factor, the minimum value of BER. What can we conclude about the
transmission quality of the WDM link?
4-Redo the same work done previously by changing the channel spacing. What can we
conclude about the transmission quality of the WDM link?
5-Repeat the same work done previously for 4 and 8 WDM users. What can we conclude
about the transmission quality of the WDM link with 4 and 8 users?
6-Conclusion.

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Kasdi Merbah OUARGLA University

Faculty of New Information and Communication

TP5: Study of a WDM link

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