A time and wavelength division fiber loop distribution system with acousto-optic tunable filters

A time and wavelength division fiber loop distribution system with acousto-optic tunable filters is proposed. This system can provide a large number of 150 Mb/s HDTV channels with a reliable technology. A theoretical analysis by Gaussian beam approximation shows that one system can distribute 320 HDTV channels to 256 subscribers with a minimum wavelength spacing of 2 nm. An experimental 12 channel (4 time division × 3 wavelength division) system with a wavelength spacing of 20 nm in the 1.3 μm region demonstrates a data rate of 1.2 Gb/s with only ?4dB loss and ?20 dB crosstalk at the tunable filter. The experimental loss and crosstalk characteristics agree well with the theoretical analysis.