Steep optical filtering for next generation optical access networks

Future development of optical access technologies expects increasing traffic and bandwidth. The first candidates to improve Gigabit-capable passive optical networks (GPON) are 10-Gigabit-PON (XG-PON) and wavelength-division multiplexing PON (WDM PON). Another possibility for increasing penetration of current PON branch is to extend number of channels provided on one optical fiber for one PON technology. Coexistence of GPON, XG-PON and WDM-PON in the same infrastructure is a most discussed issue concerning passive optical networks nowadays. Therefore, extensive studies are necessary to design proper and low-cost candidates. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates specific wavelength bands for the present status quo and the future development of access technologies. However, within coexistence, it is necessary to protect signals from various PON technologies from interference. A potential barrier to deploying XG-GPONs and WDM PONs with current GPONs is the usage of broadband light sources and sophisticated optical methods of slicing the light source emission into specific wavelength channels. Protective measures comprise the exact allocation of upstream and downstream signal bands for each technology; the so-called guard bands within the wavelength allocation scheme to protect signals; and optionally the usage of wavelength blocking filters. In this contribution, bandpass thin-film filters are numerically presented for hybrid time division/wavelength division multiplexing TDM/WDM (TWDM) and for simple operation. They have been designed to be tunable and as steep as possible to reject the wavelength bands outside those allocated to TWDM-PON. The TWDM-PON filters are proposed to guarantee steep transmission curves in the vicinity of cut-on/cut-off wavelengths of the specific allocated wavelength bands and facilitate migration from legacy GPON and XG-PON to TWDM-PON. Their deployment protects the allocated wavelength bands from the undesirable interference.