Modeling Tools for the Development of Innovative Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) Local Area Networks (LAN)

Wavelength-division multiplexing has been employed to great success in long-haul transmission systems to increase capacity and provide a new means (wavelength) of routing. Their application to local-area networks (LANs) on aircraft is promising due to the light weight and narrow cross section of optical fiber, as well as fiber"s immunity to EMI. However, the dominant transmission impairments for aircraft LANs are different than long-haul transmission systems and therefore require a different development tool. Of primary concern to aircraft LANs are high loss, multipath interference (MPI), and signal degeneration through multiple WDM components. We propose a potentially fast and efficient model for WDM LAN development, based on transfer matrices (TMs). TMs have the general advantage of representing entire systems by only a single or small number of matrices and have been used successfully to model photonic components in series. This program seeks to extend transfer-matrix modeling beyond systems in series to systems in ring and mesh topologies that have a multitude of input and output lightpaths. Successful completion of this program will prove out the efficiency and scalability of a transfer-matrix approach to a network of WDM components.