OPTICAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES (HB 2020) Hardcover

Telecommunications have been essential to social and economic activities since the 19th century, with optical fibers playing a crucial role since their commercial introduction by BT in 1983. Today, mobile networks, data centers, and broadband services, which support our entertainment, commerce, and increasingly, healthcare, rely on vast optical fiber networks. However, the fiber network is starting to reach its capacity limit, leading to concerns about a "capacity crunch," where growth in capacity struggles to meet rising demand. This book, with contributions from suppliers of widely used simulation software and academic experts, examines the causes of optical fiber performance limitations from engineering, physics, and information theory perspectives. It also explores potential solutions, with near-term fixes proposed by industry professionals and more speculative, high-potential solutions presented by academic researchers.