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Published:2021
Barry Elliott, "Front Matter", Optical Communication, Barry Elliott
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Optical Communication is a foundational reference covering the principles and applications of optics. The book offers a broad understanding of optics basics, the physics and mathematics behind the transmission of light, the devices that affect the passage of light, and the practical applications of optical theory in communications. It covers theoretical and practical applications of optical technology. The book demonstrates how the physics of optics translates into applications in telecommunications, optical communications in free space, and other media.
This book:
Offers a practical guide to optics and its applications in communications complementing existing works on its theory.
Addresses the work of international standards bodies such as the ITU and ISO in aligning the physics behind the subject and the availability of standard products that can implement modern high-speed communications networks.
Provides introductory concepts for those new to the field as well as students and professionals.
This book is suitable for physicists, engineers, technicians, and chemists. Undergraduate students or anyone in the optical field who may need a grounding in associated applications or an early introduction to the field will find this book a valuable reference.
I would like to dedicate this to my great uncle, Sergeant Henry Grace, Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry, British Army, killed in action in Iraq April 1916. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry for continuously manning his heliograph station despite being under intense enemy fire.
Preface
This book is aimed at physicists, engineers, and students who wish to establish a broad understanding of the basics of optics, the physics and mathematics behind the transmission of light, the devices that affect the passage of light, and the practical applications of optical communications.
At an undergraduate level, this book will form a useful adjunct to the more theoretically focused works by showing how the physics of optics translates into telecommunications applications.
At a postgraduate level, the book will be useful to specialists and professionals in other technical areas, such as communications engineering, astronomy, medical imaging, and remote sensing, who need to understand a wider approach to optical physics and its applications to communications at a professional level.
Sufficient mathematics is introduced to explain the basic principles at stake and many practical examples are given. The theory and practice are tied in to the international standards from the ITU, the ISO/IEC, and the IEEE, as these dictate the performance and mechanical dimensions of optical components, and the optical and electronic interfaces these components must conform to, if interoperability is to be achieved, independent of manufacturing source.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to my customers over the last thirty years who have asked me a lot of hard questions that I had to go and research the answers to. I hope this work will answer a good deal of the readers’ questions about this subject and, if not, will at least point them in the right direction to continue their own quest for knowledge.
All drawings and photographs are by the author except where acknowledged.
My thanks to my wife Yvonne, my children, and all my granddaughters, the magnificent seven!
Chester, England, 2021
Credo ut intelligam