The fourth edition of this popular text and reference book presents the fundamental principles for understanding and applying optical fiber technology to sophisticated modern telecommunication systems.

Optical-fiber-based telecommunication networks have become a major information-transmission-system, with high capacity links encircling the globe in both terrestrial and undersea installations. Numerous passive and active optical devices within these links perform complex transmission and networking functions in the optical domain, such as signal amplification, restoration, routing, and switching. Along with the need to understand the functions of these devices comes the necessity to measure both component and network performance, and to model and stimulate the complex behavior of reliable high-capacity networks.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Overview of Optical Fiber Communications

Chapter 2 Optical Fibers: Structures, Waveguiding, and Fabrication

Chapter 3 Attenuation and Dispersion

Chapter 4 Optical Sources

Chapter 5 Power Launching and Coupling

Chapter 6 Photodetectors

Chapter 7 Optical Receiver Operation

Chapter 8 Digital Links

Chapter 9 Analog Links

Chapter 10 WDM Concepts and Components

Chapter 11 Optical Amplifiers

Chapter 12 Nonlinear Effects

Chapter 13 Optical Networks

Chapter 14 Performance Measurement and Monitoring

About the Author

Gerd Keiser is a research professor at Boston University and a professor and consultant at PhotonicsComm Solutions, a firm specializing in education and consulting for the optical communications and biophotonics industries. Previously he was involved with telecom technologies at Honeywell, GTE, and General Dynamics. His technical achievements at GTE earned him the prestigious Leslie Warner Award. In addition, he is a consultant in the telecom and photonics industries, has served as an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at Northeastern University, Boston University, and Tufts University, and was an industrial advisor to the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Formerly he was a chair professor in the Electronic Engineering Department at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. He is a life fellow of the IEEE, a fellow of OSA and SPIE, an associate editor of the journal Optical Fiber Technology, and the author of four books. He received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in physics from Northeastern University in Boston. His professional experience and research interests are in the general areas of optical networking and biophotonics.