Hybrid WDM/TDM-PON with wavelength-selection-free transmitters

A hybrid wavelength-division-multiplexed/time-division-multiplexed passive optical network serving 128 subscribers with wavelength-selection-free transmitters is presented by cascading 1/spl times/16 arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWGs) and 1/spl times/8 splitters. The wavelength-selection-free transmitter is an uncooled Fabry-Pe/spl acute/rot laser diode (FP-LD) wavelength-locked to an externally injected narrow-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Bit-error rates better than 10/sup -9/ over temperature ranging from 0 to 60/spl deg/C are achieved in all 16 wavelength channels using a single FP-LD with an ASE injection of about -15 and -2 dBm in 622-Mb/s upstream and 1.25-Gb/s downstream transmissions over a 10-km feeder fiber, respectively. It is also reported that the ASE injection does not exert penalty upon burst-mode operations of the FP-LDs in the upstream.