A broadband optical local network based on multiple wavelength and multiple RF subcarriers

The authors propose a multiwavelength local-access optical network that is capable of supporting multiple services with diverse requirements. Integral to the network is an acousto-optic tunable filter that can select multiple nonadjacent wavelengths simultaneously. The use of multiwavelength selectivity, together with subcarrier multiplexing in the electronic domain, results in simple solutions to many transmission and switching problems in a multiservice setting. An important conclusion is that multiwavelength selectivity can be used to implement many networking functions not easily realized otherwise