Impact of wave propagation delay on latency in optical communication systems

Tetsuya Kawanishi; Atsushi Kanno; Yuki Yoshida; Ken-ichi Kitayama

doi:10.1117/12.1000190

Translator Disclaimer

5 February 2013 Impact of wave propagation delay on latency in optical communication systems

Tetsuya Kawanishi, Atsushi Kanno, Yuki Yoshida, Ken-ichi Kitayama

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8646, Optical Metro Networks and Short-Haul Systems V; 86460C (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.1000190
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Latency is an important figure to describe performance of transmission systems for particular applications, such as data transfer for earthquake early warning, transaction for financial businesses, interactive services such as online games, etc. Latency consists of delay due to signal processing at nodes and transmitters, and of signal propagation delay due to propagation of electromagnetic waves. The lower limit of the latency in transmission systems using conventional single mode fibers (SMFs) depends on wave propagation speed in the SMFs which is slower than c. Photonic crystal fibers, holly fibers and large core fibers can have low effective refractive indices, and can transfer light faster than in SMFs. In free-space optical systems, signals propagate with the speed c, so that the latency could be smaller than in optical fibers. For example, LEO satellites would transmit data faster than optical submarine cables, when the transmission distance is longer than a few thousand kilometers. This paper will discuss combination of various transmission media to reduce negative impact of the latency, as well as applications of low-latency systems.

Citation Download Citation

Tetsuya Kawanishi, Atsushi Kanno, Yuki Yoshida, and Ken-ichi Kitayama "Impact of wave propagation delay on latency in optical communication systems", Proc. SPIE 8646, Optical Metro Networks and Short-Haul Systems V, 86460C (5 February 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.1000190

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE