Chromatic dispersion compensation system and method

Abstract

Dispersion compensation is provided in an optical transmission system. An optical line couples first and second transceivers, and a plurality of amplifiers coupled to the optical line are spaced throughout the optical line with variable span distances. A plurality of dispersion compensation modules include a coarse granularity fiber, a connector, and a fine granularity fiber. A memory is associated with the dispersion compensators to provide information related to the value of the dispersion compensation.

1 . A method of stocking an inventory of dispersion compensation fibers for use in an optical transmission system, the method comprising:
 determining a set of coarse granularity fiber lengths and a set of fine granularity fiber lengths, wherein combinations of one of the set of coarse granularity fiber lengths and one of the set of fine granularity fiber lengths span a range of possible dispersion values in the optical transmission system;   stocking, in the inventory, one or more coarse granularity fibers corresponding to each length in the set of coarse granularity fiber lengths; and   stocking, in the inventory, one or more fine granularity fibers corresponding to each length in the set of fine granularity fiber lengths;   wherein each of the coarse granularity fibers and each of the fine granularity fibers is configured to provide a fixed amount of dispersion compensation.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 stocking, in the inventory, a plurality of memory storage devices, wherein at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is connectable to at least one of the coarse granularity fibers.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 storing a unique identifier associated with the at least one of the coarse granularity fibers in the at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 stocking, in the inventory, a plurality of memory storage devices, wherein at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is connectable to at least one of the fine granularity fibers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 storing a unique identifier associated with the at least one of the fine granularity fibers in the at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stocked one or more coarse granularity fibers are configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 10 km to about 100 km. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stocked one or more fine granularity fibers are configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 1 km to about 9 km. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stocked one or more coarse granularity fibers are configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 5 km to about 100 km. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the stocked one or more fine granularity fibers are configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about −5 km to about 5 km. 
     
     
         10 . An inventory of dispersion compensation fibers for use in an optical transmission system, the inventory comprising:
 a plurality of coarse granularity fibers, wherein each of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is configured to provide a fixed amount of dispersion compensation; and   a plurality of fine granularity fibers, wherein each of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is configured to provide a fixed amount of dispersion compensation;   wherein combinations of one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers and one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers span a range of possible dispersion values in the optical transmission system.   
     
     
         11 . The inventory of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a plurality of memory storage devices.   
     
     
         12 . The inventory of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is connectable to at least one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers, and wherein the at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is configured to store a unique identifier associated with the at least one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers. 
     
     
         13 . The inventory of  claim 11 , wherein at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is connectable to at least one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers, and wherein the at least one of the plurality of memory storage devices is configured to store a unique identifier associated with the at least one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers. 
     
     
         14 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 10 km to about 100 km. 
     
     
         15 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 1 km to about 9 km. 
     
     
         16 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about 5 km to about 100 km. 
     
     
         17 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is configured to compensate for a fixed amount of dispersion in the optical transmission system corresponding to lengths in a range of about −5 km to about 5 km. 
     
     
         18 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is a standard single mode fiber and at least one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is a standard single mode fiber. 
     
     
         19 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is a non-zero dispersion shifted fiber and at least one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is a non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. 
     
     
         20 . The inventory of  claim 10 , wherein at least one of the plurality of coarse granularity fibers is a silica core fiber and at least one of the plurality of fine granularity fibers is a silica core fiber.