Optical communications

Optical communication systems are the backbone of the internet and the connected services we rely on every day. This family of technologies powers everything from data centres training the latest AI models to the undersea cables that interconnect our planet.

This unit divides industry-standard optical systems into their key building blocks and explores how each of these blocks works so that we can maximise their performance. The components introduced as blocks include lasers and lightwave sources, optical modulators, optical fibres, optical amplifiers, filters, multiplexers, photodiodes and optical receivers. Techniques including signal processing, performance measurement and compensation are also introduced.

The utility of optical systems over the widely different scales of communication links is explored, with reference to data centres, metropolitan networks and long-haul transcontinental links. This unit culminates in an opportunity to apply this knowledge to analyse and design a long-haul optical communications system typical of an Australian commercial application.

This unit forms part of the "Telecommunications infrastructure" minor but can be taken as a stand-alone unit.