This book responds to the need for a coherent approach to nonlinear optical communication systems. It gives telecommunications researchers and engineers a handle on the unique problems presented by the proliferation of optical technologies in telecommunications in recent years and provides problem-solving strategies for various network functions and operations.

The product of a collaborative effort by four well-known researchers in telecommunications transmission systems, this volume covers design basics, network performance, and state-of-the-art system analysis tools and is supplemented with hundreds of illustrations as well as appendices containing the necessary mathematical derivations. It details:

• Design principles of the network transmission layer with optical technologies and fiber nonlinearities in place.
• Performance evaluation for a variety of optical transmission systems operating under nonlinear propagation regimes.
• Local area networks, regional networks, and geographical networks--their potential transmission capacity and possible problems.
• Examples of effective design from the most promising nonlinear optical transmission systems.
• The methodology for design and analysis of a generic system