Advanced Fibre Telecommunication

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Appreciate the diversity and limitations of fibre optic components.
• Understand systems aspects of transmission link designs and the impact of adverse effects, such as loss, dispersion and nonlinearity.
• Appreciate the technologies behind the various building components of a transmission system.
• Understand the evolution of optical communication systems to their current form
• Appreciate the differences and the applications of various telecommunication fibre types.
• Have an appreciation of the various types of networks and their distinctive characteristics.
• Appreciate some topics related to current research themes, such as optical and electronic signal processing in communications.
• Understand the various modulation formats and multiplexing techniques that are relevant in today’s communication systems

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Understand the basics of telecommunications components and the fibre characteristics of importance in communication systems.
• Appreciate the state-of-the-art in current deployed systems, as well as the future trends.

Cognitive Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Understand the relative role and importance of the various technologies used in communication systems today.
• Appreciate the variety of different communication systems and networks.
• Search the literature for specific topics in communications and develop the understanding required to discuss issues associated with these.
• Understand the technological challenges associated with transmitting signals at a high speed and/or long distances.
• Make quantitative calculation of the performance of communications systems, given a knowledge of their properties and components.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Use a variety of information sources (lectures, web, journals) to understand & solve problems.
• Perform a subject-specific literature review and present your findings to others.

Historical perspective and current status

Introduction to Network types

Network architectures

Basic network types

Long-haul transmission systems

Metropolitan-area networks

Local-area networks

Fibres – Basic Characteristics and Compensation of linear impairments

Optical Time Domain Reflectometry

Fibre characterisation techniques – Chromatic Dispersion; Polarization-mode dispersion

Passive Components – Mode coupling

Passive Components – Polarization

Active Components

Amplifiers – Basic Concepts

Amplifiers – Characterisation and Noise Figure

Multiplexing in optical fibre systems

Modulation formats

On-off keying, Differential phase-shift keying

Spectrally efficient formats

Receivers

Direct detection vs. differential detection

Coherent receivers

Systems considerations in communication systems

Capacity of a transmission system

Capacity limits in fibre systems

Performance evaluation

Noise in transmission

Control of optical nonlinearities

Exploiting fibre nonlinearities

The role of electronic digital signal processing

Teaching methods include:

The course consists of 26 lecture-hours and ten workshops/surgeries. Provisions for on-line lectures, as required.

Notes and literature guidance will be provided for parts of the course.

Learning activities include:

Attending lectures, working on assignments and problem sheets, preparing essays and presenting to an audience; exam preparation

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.