Present Status of Optical Communications: Systems and Devices
10 October 1989
During the last ten years photons have replaced electrons as the preferred carriers of information for long-haul terrestrial and undersea telecommunications. This trend continues as lightwave systems are extended toward the individual home and business and are being applied as well in computer interconnection applications. In this talk I would like to describe the most basic properties of modern lightwave communications systems and then to discuss the pivotal features of the sources and detectors which have made this astonishing transformation possible.