Maximising throughput in multiwavelength optical networks operating in nonlinear regime

High-capacity, low-delay ubiquitous broadband communication infrastructure is critical to the development and grown of the digital economy. Optical fibres
form the backbone of this infrastructure and must ensure sufficient capacity for the development of new, high-capacity life transforming services. However, optical fibre channels are nonlinear. The capacity of nonlinear channels
is unknown and the research is focused on the development of appropriate channel models to enable the calculation of achievable information rates for different modulation formats and symbol rates and any increases
which can be achieved through nonlinearity mitigation and coding. Whilst increases in achievable rates with these techniques may be limited for point-to-point links, they could be translated in significant gains in network throughput when applied to network topologies. This requires the combination of information theory for nonlinear channels and graph theory for quantifying network throughputs as a function of both the network topology and nonlinear channel properties. Potentially this research could transform he design of optical network architectures and the design of the data communications infrastructure as a whole. The student's research focuses on the ananlysis of optical fibre systems and network performance when operated over significantly wider bandwidths than used currently. Expansion of the optical fibre bandwidth operating range requires the analysis of stimulated Raman scattering for coherent optical fibre transmission, not analysed to date, the development of rapid analytical tools for systems and networks analysis and the quantification of the network throughputs in the wideband nonlinear regime.
Relevance to EPSRC thematic areas: ICT with strategic priorities in Towards Intelligent Information Infrastructure and Photonics for future systems; Digital Economy in areas Digital Signal Processing, ICT Networks.