A new type of passive single-line bidirectional optical add/drop multiplexer (SBOADM) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. When the proposed SBOADM is placed as a node of a ring topology optical fiber network, the special routing function of the SBOADM can always drop down the desired downstream signals whether the signals are injected into the SBOADM in either the clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) direction and can upload and send back the upstream signals via the reversed optical pathway of the downstream signals. Once fiber link failure occurs in the optical network, the blocked network connections can be recovered immediately by sending out the downstream signals in both the CW and CCW directions of the fiber ring. As in all passive devices, the SBOADM needs no power supply or complicated network management to achieve the bidirectional function. Thus, the proposed device is an optimal solution to enhance the stability and reliability of rapidly developed optical fiber networks.

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This paper proposes a hybrid ring- and tree-topology radio over fiber (RoF) transmission system with self-disconnection protection that can support the high distribution density of base stations (BSs) in a metropolitan area and strengthen the network quality of service through self-disconnection protection. The number of supportable BS in the system can be increased significantly by integrating the time- and wavelength-division multiplexing techniques and properly utilizing a new-generation single-line bidirectional add/drop multiplexer (SBOADM) into the proposed system. Moreover, when the ring–fiber link of the system is interrupted for any reason, the system operator can recover the broken connections quickly only by transforming an optical switch state at the CO end to allow the downlink optical signals to transmit along the clockwise and counterclockwise directions of the ring–fiber link simultaneously. In this case, the downstream optical signals can be delivered to each set of BS-groups through the two-way transmission characteristics of the SBOADM automatically, and the uplink optical signals, originally, from each set of BS-groups can be transmitted back to the CO end along the opposite direction of the downlink signal-routing path. In this way, the interference caused by fiber breakage can be avoided immediately, and the entire transport system can be reconnected to ensure the quality of network services. Our experimental results prove that the overall transmission performances are similar to those under normal circumstances.