Demonstration of a WDM/TDM hybrid PON based on a colorless frame-level reach extender

We propose a hybrid passive optical network (PON) consisting of a 2.5 Gb/s reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA)-based 32 channel loopback wavelength division multiplexing-passive optical network (WDM–PON) and a colorless OEO-based frame-level reach extender (RE). This hybrid PON is designed to support a 128-way split over a 50 km transmission distance per single wavelength channel. We experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of this design through downstream and upstream packet transmission with a commercial gigabit-capable PON (GPON) product. Even if the colorless frame-level RE uses active devices at the remote node, it is still possible to increase the optical link budget through backward compatibility with existing GPON products. This design also provides wavelength conversion and an upstream burst-to-continuous mode conversion between the WDM–PON and GPON. The proposed hybrid PON can satisfy a packet loss ratio (PLR) of 10−10 at the downstream and upstream transmission including the use of forward error correction (FEC).

► The hybrid PON using RSOA-based loopback WDM–PON and frame-level reach extender into a legacy GPON is proposed.
► The hybrid PON supports a 128-way split over 50 km transmission distance per wavelength.
► The hybrid PON provides the backward compatibility with a legacy GPON with no modification.
► The hybrid PON provides the flexibility for the practical deployment of long-reach GPON.