Module multiplexer WDP8

multi-channelfiber opticoptical

The FiberPlex WDP8 is a rack-mountable passive 8 channel coarse wavelength division multiplexer. Unlike the similar FiberPlex products in the WDM series, this unit is passive and all connected fiber optic modules must be externally selected to specific wavelengths. Being a passive unit, the WDP16 requires no external power and occupies a smaller 1U rack space. Fiber optic inputs and outputs are connected via singlemode duplex LC/PC mating sleeves in the rear of the unit. WDM Theory of Operation Infrared light has a frequency of approximately 400 Terahertz (400,000 Gigahertz). That is about 125,000 times higher than the data rate of a typical 3 Gigabit SFP, which means a large proportion of the bandwidth of a fiber optic cable is wasted. The current state of the art does not allow utilizing all of that bandwidth, but we can recover some of it by a technique called “Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing,” or “CWDM.” Essentially, it is the simple technique modulating light on different frequencies in that 400 Terahertz bandwidth. This is done through a series of optical filters and combiners, along with lasers and photodiodes tuned to a particular infrared center frequency. Historically, however, optics are referred to, not by their frequency, but by their wavelength, which is the speed of light divided by the frequency expressed in nanometers (nm).