Hybrid WDMA/OCDM system with the capability of encoding multiple wavelength channels by employing one encoder and one corresponding optical code

A hybrid wavelength division multiple access (WDMA)/optical code division multiplexing (OCDM) system is proposed, where the optical code is not the same as the address of every optical network unit (ONU); rather, the code is a virtual fiber of hybrid passive optical network (PON). To our knowledge, this is the first report analyzing a single encoder/decoder with a single corresponding optical code being exploited to encode/decode multiple wavelength signals simultaneously. This system enables OCDM to become transparent to ONU so that the existing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) PON can be upgraded. Thus, redesigning the optical line terminal and ONU can be easily accomplished, and greatly decreasing the number of encoder/decoder becomes possible. In experiment, we only employ two encoder/decoder pairs to combine two WDM-PONs in one fiber. Simulation results confirm the feasibility of the proposed system.