Signal Transmission

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Page ID: 74482

Carol Korzeniewski
Analytical Sciences Digital Library

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Telecommunications^a^,b,c

Lasers are used in communications to encode digital signals for transmission along an optical fiber in a manner similar to electrical transmission of binary data on a metal wire.
Laser signal transmission is central to modern telephone, ethernet and digital TV communications.
Lasers provide the power necessary to transmit signals long distances around the globe.
The narrow bandwidth attainable by lasers allows for signal transmission through optical fiber using multiple wavelengths. Each wavelength provides a channel for data transmission, and narrow laser bandwidths allow for a greater number of channels by enabling channels to be packed closely on a fiber.
Diode lasers^d^,e are key to communication systems, as they can be designed to transmit at narrow bandwidth and at photon energies that span a range of wavelengths within the optical fiber transmission window^a^,b,c.

Telecommunications References

H.J.R. Dutton, Understanding Optical Communications, IBM Report SG24-5230-00, 1998, http://www.redbooks.ibm.com
www.fiber-optics.info
www.fiber-optics.info/history
D. Sands, Diode Lasers, lOP Publishing, 2005.
http://www.rp-photonics.com/laser_diodes.html