Abstract

Optical time division multiplexing (OTDM) is a powerful technique which will find application in high-capacity trunk and loop systems.^1–3 An advantage of OTDM is that it enables transmission at very high bit rates while employing electronics with only moderate bandwidth.² Extending time-division multiplexing into the optical domain is a natural evolution of digital electronic multiplexing and thus offers the potential for efficiently using the bandwidth of a fiber. In addition, OTDM is compatible with emerging digital photonic switching technologies and can be configured to provide dynamic bandwidth allocation in multiuser systems. Here we report on the design and characterization of an optical time-division-multiplexed fiber transmission system experiment using a multiplexing and demultiplexing ratio of 1:4 and a baseband channel bit rate of 4 Gbit/s to attain an aggregate transmission bit rate of 16 Gbit/s.

© 1988 Optical Society of America