Power savings in a wavelength-division-multiplexed passive optical network for aircraft

Dense wavelength division multiplexing has been proposed as a means of implementing communications on aircraft. In such applications, power consumption is a critical consideration. The impact of reducing the transmitter power and recovering losses using a shared amplifier has been investigated. By recovering the power loss using a shared amplifier transmitter, power savings can be made. This network has been modeled and savings of 20% are predicted in a realistic aircraft environment. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)