Photonic design automation of optical communication systems

Photonic Design Automation (PDA) describes the design methodologies, software tools and services used to engineer complex photonic networks and products. It offers software integration along the signal path from transmitter to receiver, across the value chain from component and systems manufacturer to network operator, and allows to reduce number of costly and time consuming lab experiments and field trials investigating new system architectures and characterizing optical components. This presentation discusses various modeling aspects along the optical propagation channel. The concept of multiple optical signal representations is briefly introduced, which allows distinguishing between data signals, optical noise, distortions and crosstalk throughout the fiber transmission. The trends of modeling optical transmitters, fibers, doped fiber amplifiers, and of estimating the bit-error rate are outlined. The optimization of multiple pump lasers to achieve high-gain bandwidth fiber Raman amplifiers is discussed. The link of simulation models with real-world component measurement is discussed on an exemplary basis.