37115 - Lightwave Engineering M

Learning outcomes

The course consists of two modules to provide skills in optical circuit design and its deployment in future optical network elements and infrastructures. The first module is related to the design of optical circuits in view of their applications in optical networks, by the introduction of a circuit model approach based on the physical principles of optical devices. Basic skills in optical networking and in practical applications of optical circuits are given in the second module, with reference to evolving and emerging network service scenarios.

Course contents

Module I (Optical circuits)  (3 CFU)

Introduction: from materials to optical circuits.
Materials (Glasses, Lithium Niobate, Silicon, Semiconductors).

Basic devices: straight and curved waveguides, directional couplers, gratings, Y-junctions, Arrayed waveguides (AWG), Mach-Zhender interferometer

Resonant structures: ring resonators.

Modulators.

Coupling of devices (mode adapters).

Circuits as composition of devices: Filters, Splitters/Combiners, Tunability.

Technological issues.

A circuit approach to design: The scattering matrix.

Examples of Integrate Optical circuits: tunable filters, ecc.

 

Module 2 - Optical networks (3 CFU)

Introduction: from optical circuits to optical systems and networks.

Access and core networks, data centers

TDM optical networks: SDH

WDM networks: fixed and flexible grid

WDM network elements: OADM and OXC

Control and management operations

Optical Circuit and Packet Switching

Switch Architectures

Contention resolution

Queuing in optical packet switches

Wavelength converters sharing scheme

Switching performance: simulation and analysis

Power consumption in optical switches

Optical Interconnection Networks in Data Center

Optical networks for backhauling/fronthauling for Fixed/Mobile Network Convergence in 5G scenarios

Hybrid optical networks: a case study

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1

Textbook:
C. K. Madsen, J. H. Zhao, Optical Filter Design and Analysis. A Signal Processing Approach, J. Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1999

Further reading:
L. Vivien, L. Pavesi, Handbook of Silicon Photonics, CRC Press, 2013

Module 2

R. Ramaswami, K. N. Sivarajan, G. H. Sasaki, Optical Networks: a practical perspective, Third Edition, Morgan Kaufmann ed.

Teaching methods

The lectures will focus on general problems concerning the design of optical circuits (Module 1) and optical networks (module 2) showing how the system design influences and is influenced by circuit design.

Assessment methods

The exam is oral.

It aims to check the knowledge and the understanding of the general principles of the studied topics and the ability of discuss them with propriety of language.

Teaching tools

PC, Videoprojector

Office hours

See the website of Paolo Bassi

See the website of Carla Raffaelli