Distributed optical multiplexing with precise frequency allocation using fiber frequency conversion

Effective utilization of fiber capacity in optical communication networks is required to keep up with the increasing traffic demand. Precise optical frequency allocation among carriers is essential for improving the spectral efficiency to utilize the limited spectral resource. In this paper, we show a distributed optical multiplexing scheme, in which data signals are sequentially multiplexed by frequency-division multiplexing on a single-wavelength optical carrier using fiber frequency conversion with locally provided optical subcarrier signals. The scheme achieves dense packing of distributed multi-channel signals with precise frequency allocation using free-running lasers. Using the scheme we demonstrate a precise multiplexing of coherent-optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing and Nyquist wavelength-division multiplexing.